8-20-2025 7:01am

New Mexico Gun Waiting Period Ruled Unconstitutional

Chris Edwards Editor

Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham issued the following statement in response to a Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals decision to strike down New Mexico’s seven day waiting period for gun purchases:

Today’s decision by the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals is deeply disappointing, plainly wrong and likely to cost lives in New Mexico. New Mexico’s waiting period law was carefully crafted to minimize gun violence while respecting Second Amendment rights. The dissenting opinion in today’s ruling even notes that New Mexico’s law “is likely to save approximately thirty-seven lives per year.”

This ruling ignores a recent binding Tenth Circuit precedent that upheld Colorado’s law barring gun purchases by anyone under the age of 21—a law that requires 18-year-olds to wait three years to purchase a weapon. The ruling also mischaracterizes New Mexico’s gun purchase waiting period, saying it applies to “everyone” when, in fact, it doesn’t apply to those who sell guns to immediate family members, those with a concealed carry permit, and law enforcement officers.

The evidence is clear––waiting periods prevent impulsive acts of violence and suicide, giving people time to step back and reassess their emotions during moments of crisis. I’m disappointed that today’s ruling doesn’t take this into account.

We are reviewing our legal options in reaction to today’s misguided ruling by the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.

The New Mexico GOP Chairwoman Amy Barela issued the following response:

The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals today reversed a lower court decision which had authorized the implementation of a cooling-off period for firearms purchases established by New Mexico’s “Waiting Period Act.” This state law, enacted as HB 129 in 2024, requires a seven-day waiting period for anyone seeking to legally acquire a firearm.

The Appeals Court ruling explains what law-abiding gun owners in New Mexico have said all along, that “Cooling-off periods infringe on the Second Amendment by preventing the legal acquisition of firearms.” The court further concluded that this New Mexico law “is likely an unconstitutional burden on the Second Amendment rights of its citizens.”

Senate Republican Leader Bill Sharer (R-Farmington) praised today’s ruling, reiterating that “the clear language of the 2nd Amendment says that ‘the right of the people to keep and bear arms SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED’.” Sharer also questioned the logic behind the law itself, pointing out that “Criminals certainly don’t wait seven days before breaking into our homes and threatening our families and properties… what sense does it make to require law abiding citizens to wait seven days before being able to defend themselves?”

Republican legislators predicted this outcome during debate on the bill in 2024, but Democrats nonetheless passed HB 129 without a single Republican vote.