SB 69/a 14-DAY FIREARM SALE WAITING PERIOD

Sen Joseph Cervantes

Actions: [1] SCC/SHPAC/SJC-SCC [2]germane-SHPAC [4] DP/a-SJC [6] DP

Scheduled: Not Scheduled

 Senate Bill 69 (SB 69) creates the crime of unlawful sale of a firearm before the required waiting period ends and requires a 14-day waiting period before the completion of a sale of a firearm, with exceptions.   

 Senate Bill 69 (SB 69) creates a new misdemeanor offense of unlawful sale of a firearm before required waiting period ends.  

SB 69 imposes a 14-business day waiting period between the initiation of the federal background check and the sale and transfer of a firearm to the buyer. The crime is committed when a person transfers ownership, possession, or physical control of a firearm to a buyer before the end of this 14-business day period.  A firearm must remain in the custody of the seller during the waiting period, and if requested, the seller must allow law enforcement to inspect their firearm sales records.  Each party to such an unlawful sale is in violation of this offense and may be separately charged for the same sale. The bill further allows two or more offenses to be charged in the same complaint and allows them to be punished as separate offenses.

This crime does not apply to the sale of a firearm: (1) to a buyer who holds a current federal firearms license; (2) to a buyer who holds a valid New Mexico concealed carry license; (3) to a law enforcement agency, (4) between two law enforcement officers authorized to carry firearms and certified pursuant to federal or state law; or (5) between immediate family members to the third degree.  
 

 On January 26, 2024, the Senate Health and Public Affairs Committee amended SB 69 by amending the waiting period from fourteen business days to fourteen calendar days.