Passing HB 87 will protect NM women

In 2017, New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence (NMPGV) worked on legislation that would have required domestic violence offenders under protective orders to relinquish their firearms while under the order. While the resistance was formidable, a watered-down bill was eventually passed through the House and Senate, but was vetoed by thenGovernor Martinez. This year, NMPGV is working to pass HB 87, which is a much stronger version of the previous legislation.

Every 16 hours in the United States, a woman is shot and killed by her intimate partner. Close to half of all intimate partner homicides are committed with a firearm. The chance of being murdered by an abusive partner is five times greater if there is a gun in the home.

In New Mexico, men murder women at the third-highest rate in the country. Unlike most states, New Mexico does not prohibit people who are subject to domestic violence protection orders from purchasing or possessing firearms. This dangerous loophole needs to be closed and that is exactly what HB 87 does.

Passing HB 87 is a crucial step in safeguarding women from intimate partner homicide with a firearm. It will also help keep our children safe, as they are often killed in these domestic violence incidents or witnesses to their mother’s murder. Yet another startling fact in New Mexico is that more than one out of every three children is present during an incident of domestic violence in New Mexico. When the incident involves a firearm, it is particularly tragic, as was the case in a mass shooting in November near Gallup. The boyfriend killed three others, himself and critically wounded the boy’s mother. It was the boy who called 911. HB 87 is modeled on the federal domestic violence firearm replenishment law. We need HB 87 because New Mexico judges and local law enforcement officers are unable to remove guns that violate federal law. Only federal agents and ATF officers have this authority. I personally know one young mother who has been forced to move seven times because her ex-husband threatened to shoot her and her children. He is now under a protective order, but she has no idea if he still has his guns. Calls to federal agents and the ATF have not been returned.

We know that this law works. Research shows that restricting abusers’ access to firearms is an effective policy, reducing domestic violence homicides by as much as 25 percent. In addition, studies show that “would-be killers” do not replace guns with other weapons to effect the same number of killings. By passing HB 87, New Mexico would join 27 other states that have already passed similar legislation.

The excuses for not passing HB 87 have been offensive to women in New Mexico. One legislator said we need to focus on porn and our weak abortion laws if we really want to get serious about protecting women. Another bemoaned the fact that, oftentimes, women claim domestic abuse when in fact they are just angry at their partners. Second Amendment gun enthusiasts came out in droves for the first committee hearing to argue that getting guns out of the hands of domestic violence offenders goes against their rights. Why we are defending the gun rights of domestic abusers over the safety of those being abused in New Mexico is perplexing, tragic and unconscionable.

Please call your elected officials and ask them to pass this bill into law.

Miranda Viscoli is co-president of New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence, a statewide nonprofit working on the prevention of gun violence in New Mexico.