Santa Fe, NM — 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.
