New Mexico Republicans are warning the likely passage of a semiautomatic firearms prohibition law in Santa Fe will turn law-abiding citizens into potential criminals, citing the types of guns targeted and a new registry provision.
The Gas-Operated Semi-Automatic Firearms Exclusion Act, or SB 279, will prohibit the import, sale and possession of such guns, as well as “large-capacity ammunition-feeding devices,” in the Land of Enchantment – and require certification of semi-auto weapons and “providing penalties.”
A source familiar with the legislation also said the focus on gas-operated firearms allows proponents to target the AR-15 without naming it. The source added that “gas power” appeared intended to suggest added lethality when in reality it refers to the use of spent gas from a casing to reset the gun’s bolt for the next firing.
One of the most vocal opponents of the bill told Fox News Digital that the bill is the hallmark of the “radical agenda of New Mexico Democrats” and that the left is “ignoring practical realities and constitutional protections given to all of us.”
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State Rep. Stefani Lord, R-Sandia Park, said the bill slaps a ban on typical magazines and arms already owned by many New Mexicans and that Democrats, including Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, are trying to “trample the Second Amendment under the guise of public safety.”
“The ambiguous wording of the bill risks turning law-abiding gun owners into felons overnight,” Lord said. “It is clear this isn’t just about safety – it’s about control, driven by a liberal tide that’s swept through Santa Fe with unprecedented force in 2025.”
The governor, however, defended the bill, telling Fox News Digital it is not an attack on Second Amendment rights but a responsible move to protect the populace.
“It simply regulates the most dangerous firearms and accessories that are disproportionately used in mass shootings,” Lujan Grisham said.
“The vast majority of handguns – what the Supreme Court has called the ‘quintessential self-defense weapon’ – aren’t regulated under this act. Current owners can keep their regulated gas-operated semiautomatic firearms and large-capacity magazines by filing a simple form with local dealers – not a ‘gun registry’ as critics have falsely claimed.”
Lujan Grisham added that other laws around the country similar to the one matriculating through the Roundhouse in Santa Fe have been upheld by judges of all political inclinations.
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“We are confident this legislation is likewise constitutional and necessary to protect New Mexicans,” she said.
State Rep. John Block, R-Alamogordo, was unconvinced.
Block said the gun control bill is par for the course in what he called the “most liberal legislative session this state has ever seen.”
“This ban on gas-operated semiautomatic firearms is wrapped in vague language that hands unelected officials way too much power to decide which guns get outlawed,” he said.
Block, who, along with Lord, unsuccessfully sought to impeach Lujan Grisham in 2024 when she enacted a temporary public health order restricting open carrying of firearms after a spate of Albuquerque gun violence, said the bill reminds him of that situation.
“It is clear [Democrats] are dead-set on disarming all New Mexicans,” Block said.
Matthew Mammoser, an official with the National Association for Gun Rights, posted a video last week of himself delivering several Xerox-type boxes he said were full of “thousands” of petitions from New Mexicans opposed to the bill.
Meanwhile, New Mexico House Minority Leader Gail Armstrong, R-Socorro, said her caucus was and is open to working with Democrats on “real solutions” to gun violence and other concerns the bill seeks to address.
“This session, rather than take violent offenders off our streets, address our healthcare shortage and work on the unaffordability crisis our state is facing, Democrats have opted to pursue a radical agenda at the expense of our constitutional rights,” she said.
Fox News Digital reached out for comment from the bill’s top-listed sponsor, state Sen. Micaelita O’Malley, D-Bernalillo, but did not receive a reply by press time.
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