New Mexico Republicans Issue Dire Warning Over Gun Control Proposals

One of my favorite vacations ever took me to New Mexico. It was absolute gorgeous there, a state that I seriously considered calling home at some point. It just hits all the right buttons for me and I have wanted to go back ever since.

But live there? Now? Not likely.

The problem is that anti-gun jihadists are running the state and running it right into the ground. Now, with new bills working through the system that have a pretty high likelihood of passing, pro-gun Republicans are warning people of what’s to come.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.

…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.

“It is clear [Democrats] are dead-set on disarming all New Mexicans,” Block said.

Of course, one of the “defenses” of this bill is that it doesn’t target people’s handguns, saying they’re the quintessential self-defense weapon.

Now, I tend to think that handguns are probably the ideal self-defense weapons for most people in most circumstances. They’re more versatile in that role than the old 12-gauge shotgun suggestion.

But that’s my opinion. It’s not really a definitive fact no matter what anyone tells you. The Second Amendment’s whole “shall not be infringed” thing means we can make that determination for ourselves, especially since some people may need something a little spicier from time to time than a pistol.

Moreover, though, I don’t think anyone should trust that handguns will be off-limits forever.

Anti-gunners will tell you that they don’t want a total gun ban, that they have no interest in any such thing. But when you ask them where the line is for them short of a total ban, most of them can’t give you an answer. What that means is that there’s no restriction they won’t support short of that, and that’s assuming they’re telling the truth about a total ban.

I wouldn’t really trust that assumption.

What that means here is that sooner or later, these same lawmakers will go after handguns, probably because they’re the firearm used in 95 percent of homicides committed with a firearm. It’s just a matter of time before they’ll have to go after handguns if they’re going to keep blaming guns for the violent crime problem so rampant within the state.

So yeah, Block is right. The goal, ultimately, is to disarm pretty much everyone in New Mexico.

While that effort will likely fail in court, despite anti-gun claims that this is perfectly constitutional, that takes time. Some people may not have that time.