Felon firearms laws need to grow teeth in New Mexico

The outrageous murder of NMSP Officer Darian Jarrott highlights the broken state of our criminal justice system.

The murderer had multiple felony convictions, multiple paroles, multiple parole violations, continuous felony activities, and was known to be in possession of firearms. Yet he was not incarcerated; he was roaming freely in New Mexico committing felonies while in possession of firearms.

We should hold someone accountable, but there is not “someone” in charge of the criminal justice system other than “We the People”. Our three branches of government system is designed to prevent consolidation of power. So far, We the People are tolerating the profound brokenness of our criminal justice system. We haven’t been pushed far enough to demand and fund the changes required to fix it.

But We the People can do something now. The “gun control” and “gun rights” folks could and should unite and demand enforcement of the existing state and federal “Felon in Possession of a Firearm” laws. These are tough laws that are simple to prove. We’re all in this fight and we are not powerless. I recommend establishing “The Jarrott Policy” that provides full funding for enforcement of the existing Felon in Possession laws. The “Jarrott Policy” would require immediate enforcement of the Felon in Possession laws after establishing probable cause. There would be no tolerance for enforcement delay in the hopes of catching the felon in the act of committing a more heinous crime.

CLINT HUBBARD Albuquerque