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HOUSE BILL 565
57
TH LEGISLATURE
-
STATE
OF
NEW
MEXICO
-
FIRST SESSION
,
2025
INTRODUCED BY
Stefani Lord and Jimmy G. Mason and John Block
and William A. Hall II and Harlan Vincent
AN ACT
RELATING TO FIREARMS; PROVIDING THAT THE REQUIRED WAITING
PERIOD FOR THE SALE OF A FIREARM DOES NOT APPLY TO A BUYER WHO
IS A CERTIFIED LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER OR A COMMISSIONED LAW
ENFORCEMENT OFFICER WITH THE POWER TO MAKE ARRESTS.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
SECTION 1. Section 30-7-7.3 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2024,
Chapter 46, Section 1) is amended to read:
"30-7-7.3. UNLAWFUL SALE OF A FIREARM BEFORE REQUIRED
WAITING PERIOD ENDS.--
A. A waiting period of seven calendar days shall be
required for the sale of a firearm and the transfer of the
firearm to the buyer. The seven-calendar-day waiting period
shall include the period required to conduct a federal instant
background check; provided that, if the seven-calendar-day
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waiting period has expired without the completion of a required
federal instant background check, the seller shall not transfer
the firearm to the buyer until the federal instant background
check is completed. If the required federal instant background
check has not been completed within twenty days, the seller may
transfer the firearm to the buyer.
B. The firearm shall remain in the custody of the
seller or the federal firearms licensee performing the federal
instant background check during the entirety of the waiting
period.
C. Unlawful sale of a firearm before the required
waiting period ends consists of the transfer of ownership,
possession or physical control of the firearm from the seller
to the buyer before the end of the required seven-calendar-day
waiting period, but does not include temporary possession or
control of a firearm provided to a customer by the proprietor
of a licensed business in the conduct of that business.
D. Each party to an unlawful sale of a firearm
before the required waiting period ends is in violation of this
section and may be separately charged for the same sale.
E. Each firearm sold contrary to the provisions of
this section constitutes a separate offense under Subsection C
of this section.
F. Two or more offenses may be charged in the same
complaint, information or indictment and shall be punished as
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separate offenses.
G. Whoever violates the provisions of this section
is guilty of a misdemeanor.
H. The provisions of this section do not apply to
the sale of a firearm:
(1) to a buyer who holds a valid federal
firearms license;
(2) to a buyer who holds a valid New Mexico
concealed handgun license pursuant to the Concealed Handgun
Carry Act;
(3) to a law enforcement agency;
(4) between two law enforcement officers
authorized to carry a firearm and certified pursuant to federal
law or the Law Enforcement Training Act; [or ]
(5) to a buyer who is a law enforcement
officer authorized to carry a firearm and certified pursuant to
federal law or the Law Enforcement Training Act;
(6) to a buyer who is a commissioned law
enforcement officer who has the power to arrest while
performing the officer's official duties; or
[(5)] (7) between immediate family members.
I. As used in this section:
(1) "firearm" means any weapon that will or is
designed to or may readily be converted to expel a projectile
by the action of an explosion; the frame or receiver of any
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such weapon; and includes any handgun, rifle or shotgun; but
shall not include an antique firearm as defined in 18 U.S.C.
Section 921(16), a powder-actuated tool or other device
designed to be used for construction purposes, an emergency
flare or a firearm in permanently inoperable condition; and
(2) "immediate family member" means a spouse,
a parent, a child, a sibling, a grandparent, a grandchild, a
great-grandchild, a niece, a nephew, a first cousin, an aunt or
an uncle."
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