New Mexico's red flag gun law being utilized more, but could be retooled

Aug. 14—SANTA FE — New Mexico's red flag gun law was used infrequently in the two years following its 2020 approval.

But use of the law that allows firearms to temporarily be taken away from those deemed a danger to themselves or others has steadily increased over the last two years, as law enforcement officers have received training and grown more familiar with its workings.

Statewide, the number of temporary firearm seizure petitions filed by law enforcement agencies has jumped from three petitions in 2021 to 46 petitions last year, according to a task force report presented Wednesday.

And 51 petitions have already been filed so far this year, New Mexico State Police Lt. Janice Madrid told members of a legislative committee.

More than half of those firearm petitions have been filed in Bernalillo County, as the Albuquerque Police Department has a crisis intervention unit that's used the law as a tool for removing guns from individuals with mental health issues who have made violent threats.

"I think it's saved some lives and given some hope for families," APD Detective Jeff Jones said during a meeting of the legislative Courts, Corrections and Justice Committee.

He and other APD officers described during Wednesday's hearing how they have used the law, with Detective Coty Maxwell citing an investigation into a man who threatened to kill his neighbors and himself with a gun.

"During my investigation, I found this person had access to 13 firearms, including 11 high-powered rifles and two handguns," Maxwell said, adding the individual had previously refused treatment for mental health issues.

The defendant eventually agreed to surrender his firearms after acknowledging his mental health struggles, Maxwell said.

In another case, APD officers successfully used the law after a student at an Albuquerque school threatened another student and posted photos on social media of himself with a semi-automatic handgun.

Controversy from the start

The 2020 bill, technically known as the Extreme Risk Firearm Protection Order Act, was passed after a bruising debate that pitted gun control advocates and top state Democrats against Republicans and most county sheriffs statewide.

Some sheriffs have balked at enforcing the red flag gun law, arguing it violates individuals' due process rights and does not work as intended. But the law has not been challenged in court.

Under New Mexico's law, only a law enforcement officer or a prosecutor can file a petition in state court for an order to prohibit someone from possessing firearms.

The petitions can be filed on request from a spouse, ex-spouse, parent, child, grandparent, school administrator or employer, but those individuals cannot file petitions directly.

If a temporary 10-day order is granted, a hearing is then held to determine whether the order should be made permanent for a year. Such permanent orders can then be extended for an additional year if a motion is filed before it expires.

Of the roughly 120 petitions filed statewide since the law took effect, about 95% have been granted by a judge, Albuquerque District Court Judge Jane Levy said.

In most cases she has handled, defendants were in agreement with the need for a firearm protection order, Levy added.

Possible changes on horizon

Since the red flag gun law took effect, several changes to it have been floated as a way to make the law less cumbersome.

While those changes have so far failed to win approval, more revisions could be proposed during next year's 60-day legislative session.

The task force led by State Police Deputy Chief Carolyn Huynh that also included other law enforcement officials and behavioral health care experts as members identified several possible changes to the law.

Those proposals include allowing law enforcement officers to directly initiate a court petition — instead of waiting for someone else to contact them — and requiring firearms to be relinquished immediately upon a judge's order, instead of within 48 hours.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham ordered the creation of the task force in August 2022 to educate law enforcement officers about the red flag gun law and increase public awareness.

New Mexico had the nation's third-highest gun death rate as of 2021, and gun-related hospital emergency department visits in the Albuquerque metro area increased by 22% over a recent two-year period.

However, preliminary data from the state's Office of the Medical Investigator shows gun-related homicides and suicides were down last year compared to the previous year.