Heinrich: Senate proposal to curb gun violence delivers 'real, meaningful action'

Jun. 14—When U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich went to pick up his youngest son from Albuquerque High School recently, the campus was on lockdown after an alleged student-on-student shooting nearby.

"We know the level of gun violence in our country is appalling and unacceptable, and New Mexico is no exception," Heinrich said Monday during a virtual news conference to discuss a bipartisan legislative package designed to reduce gun violence, which he helped negotiate.

"I personally just refuse to accept the idea that we are so divided in this country that we can't make this situation better," he said. "The New Mexico Legislature, to [its] credit, has taken major steps in the last few years to reduce gun violence — steps that many people long said were impossible. The United States Senate should do the same."

The legislative framework, which President Joe Biden said Sunday "would be the most significant gun safety legislation to pass Congress in decades," is a start to addressing the nation's gun violence, Heinrich said.

"This is the beginning," he said when asked whether he would continue to push the gun issue beyond the framework, which has the support of 10 Democrats and 10 Republicans in the U.S. Senate.

"This is a conversation that shows that we can get something done, and I think it's opened up the door for additional conversations," he said.

The gun safety reforms would include federal funding for states and tribes to create crisis intervention order laws, or so-called red flag gun laws.

"New Mexico recently passed one of these laws at the state level to ensure deadly weapons are kept out of the hands of individuals whom a court has determined to be a significant danger to themselves or to others," Heinrich said.

New Mexico adopted the Extreme Risk Firearm Protection Order Act two years ago, which allows law enforcement officers to file a petition seeking a court order to seize firearms from a person who poses a credible threat. So far, officers in the state have filed only nine petitions.

Heinrich said the legislative framework would make money available for authorities to use the law more regularly.

"When law enforcement has to go through the process of actually implementing one of these crisis intervention orders, you have to come up with the resources to do that, and that means you're taking resources away from something else," he said. "That will stop because we will have federal funding to actually implement these orders, and that will make a big difference in a resource-strapped state like New Mexico."

Miranda Viscoli, co-president of New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence, said training in the law is key to its success. Since her organization hired a trainer to educate law enforcement, district attorneys, domestic violence advocates and others on how to use the state's red flag gun law, the number of court petitions increased from three to nine, she said.

"That law is only as good as the training," she said. "But we do need law enforcement to get behind it."

In addition to providing federal funding to implement red flag gun laws, the proposed bill calls for preventing gun sales to any domestic violence offender, not just spouses. The bill also would crack down on criminals who traffic guns make illegal straw purchases, and it would make funding available for school safety measures, community behavioral health and school-based mental health services.

"We're also enhancing the review process for buyers under 21 years of age," Heinrich said. "This new process requires an investigative period to review juvenile and mental health records, including checks with state databases and local law enforcement."

The bill, Heinrich said, is meant to save lives.

"Now, I fully recognize that the compromise here is just a beginning, but progress has to start somewhere," he said. "The hardest part of every negotiation is letting go of the perfect for the possible."

Heinrich said the Senate has to move quickly to hammer out the legislative language for the bill.

"That is literally happening as we speak," he said. "We need to meet this moment ... with real, meaningful action, and that's what this framework is all about."

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