Democratic lawmaker again introduces legislation to limit gun magazines

Jan. 11—An Albuquerque lawmaker who has tried in the past to pass legislation to limit a gun's magazine capacity is sponsoring a similar bill in this year's legislative session.

Rep. Patricia Roybal Caballero, D-Albuquerque, on Monday introduced House Bill 50, which would make it a fourth-degree felony to possess or transfer a magazine capable of holding 10 or more rounds.

House Bill 50 includes an appropriation of $1.5 million for fiscal year 2024 to support provisions of the act, including the funding of additional local and statewide law enforcement, courts and incarceration.

The chances of passage for Roybal Caballero's bill remain to be seen — while similar laws have passed in several other Democratic-run states in recent years, a less restrictive version of the bill she introduced last year couldn't even get out of committee. However, the bill is the first in what may be a number of gun control measures likely to be introduced this year as lawmakers grapple with rising crime and look for ways to reduce the potential for mass shootings.

"Large-capacity magazines are often used in mass shootings and have been used in every one of the 10 deadliest mass shootings in the U.S.," wrote Miranda Viscoli, co-president of New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence, in an email Wednesday.

"HB 50 is an important piece of legislation that would keep our communities, families and children safer from gun violence," she said.

Roybal Caballero did not return a call seeking comment Wednesday.

Using data from 1990 to 2017, a 2019 American Journal of Public Health report said bans on large-capacity magazines "appear to reduce both the incidence of, and number of people killed in, high-fatality mass shootings."

Republican leaders in the House of Representatives said in an interview Wednesday limiting the number of bullets in a firearm won't make as much of a difference in preventing violent crime as ensuring repeat violent criminals remain locked up.

"It's not about if you have 10 or 11 bullets in your gun," said House Minority Leader Ryan Lane, R-Aztec. "It's about repeat violent offenders."

Rep. Jason Harper, R-Rio Rancho, said gun violence "is a big problem." But so is releasing repeat offenders, he said.

Referring to recent reports of shootings at the homes and businesses of Albuquerque-based public officials — all Democrats — Harper said a suspect in police custody in the shootings was being held on other unrelated charges, indicating he had a record.

"So I'm asking, why was this guy on the street?" Harper said. "Why did he have a gun?"

Harper said any proposal to limit the number of bullets in the suspect's gun "is not going to keep him from shooting up my garage door."

According to the nonprofit Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation's website, "many popular semiautomatic handguns and rifles are sold with magazines that have capacities of 15-30 rounds."

Roybal Caballero's bill would provide for some exceptions, including for residents from other states who bring a large-capacity magazine into New Mexico for use in an established shooting competition, law enforcement personnel and active and reserve members of military branches.

Last year a similar bill proposed by Roybal Caballero, which would have banned magazines that can hold 15 rounds or more, stalled in a House committee where Democrats held a majority. Some Democrats on that committee said the bill was not ready to be considered during a 30-day legislative session. Many gun-rights advocates showed up to oppose the bill last year — as they have with previous efforts to enact more stringent gun control measures in the past.

Similar measures have been gaining traction in other Democratic-run states — 13 states and Washington, D.C. have similar high-capacity magazine bans, with most of them banning magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds, according to information collected by the pro-gun control Giffords Law Center. Roybal Caballero's bill, as written, would impose a limit of one fewer bullet in New Mexico than what most of these other states have done.

Some of these laws are older while others are recent — Washington state passed such a law last year, for example. And Illinois is about to join them — Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a gun control law Tuesday night that, among other provisions, bans rifles with magazines holding more than 10 rounds and pistols with magazines holding more than 15 rounds.

The Federal Assault Weapons Ban passed in 1994 included similar restrictions on magazine capacity at a national scale, but the law expired in 2004, and subsequent efforts to pass similar legislation have stalled in Congress.

Meanwhile, Rep. Bill Rehm, R-Albuquerque, introduced an array of bills this week aimed at creating new or stricter penalties for repeat violent criminals, felons caught carrying a firearm, drug traffickers carrying firearms and wholesale retail shoplifters.

Rehm, a former police officer, expressed skepticism about HB 50 in an interview.

"Saying we are going to have a magazine ban — who's going to follow it?" he asked. "It's not going to be the criminals."

Of his own bills, he said most are "aimed at criminal activity involving firearms." He said most people charged with murder are convicted felons.

"We've got to stop them from using guns," he said of his bill to impose life sentences on three-time felons.

Most of Rehm's bills are ones he has unsuccessfully pushed for in the past. However, he said he feels more confident this year his bills will have a chance to garner bipartisan support due to rising violent crime that has New Mexicans worried. Albuquerque reported nearly 120 homicides last year, while Santa Fe had eight.

"We've got to do something to address the murder rate with firearms, and it's not about putting laws on the lawful," he said. "We need to prosecute the offenders and their activities."