A law requiring that New Mexico gun buyers wait seven days before taking ownership of purchased guns was overturned this week in a federal appeals court.
The measure requiring a cooling-off period before purchasers take possession of newly purchased firearms passed the state legislature in 2024. It was quickly signed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D).
Ortega v. Grisham, the case that pushed back against waiting periods in the state, appeared before a three-judge panel of the U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. In a 2-1 decision, the panel ruled that the law does not fit within the scope of the right to keep and bear arms.
“Cooling-off periods do not fit into any historically grounded exceptions to the right to keep and bear arms, and burden conduct within the Second Amendment’s scope,” Judge Timothy Tymkovich wrote in the court’s opinion.
The lone dissenter in the decision was Judge Scott Matheson, who pointed out that dozens of states have waiting periods.
“Nearly a dozen states plus the District of Columbia have enacted waiting period laws that apply to some or all firearms. Four states set shorter periods, five set longer ones, and three set the same seven-day period,” Matheson argued in his dissent.
“In short, the law does not serve abusive ends. It does not ‘meaningfully constrain’ the right to keep and bear arms.”
Ortega v. Grisham was supported by the National Rifle Association and Mountain States Legal Foundation, with additional support from the National Shooting Sports Foundation.
“The Tenth Circuit has sided with the NRA and held that radical waiting period laws are indeed unconstitutional,” NRA-ILA Executive Director John Commerford said in a press release. “This decision not only impacts gun owners in New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Kansas, and Oklahoma, but serves as a key piece in dismantling similar gun control laws across the country.”
Gov. Grisham called the decision “deeply disappointing.”
“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,” Grisham said in a press release.
Though the case now heads back to the District Court for the District of New Mexico for a preliminary injunction, Grisham’s office said they are exploring further legal options.
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