SENATE MEMORIAL 9

56th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2024

INTRODUCED BY

Shannon D. Pinto and Brenda G. McKenna and Linda M. López

and Harold Pope and Antoinette Sedillo Lopez

 

 

 

 

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE CRIME VICTIMS REPARATION COMMISSION TO CONVENE A STATEWIDE GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION TASK FORCE TO STUDY GUN VIOLENCE IN NEW MEXICO AND TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ADDRESSING THE ISSUE.

 

     WHEREAS, gun violence is a serious issue affecting communities across the United States, including New Mexico, with a significant number of deaths and injuries resulting from gun-related incidents; and

     WHEREAS, in 2021, there was a sixteen and eight-tenths percent spike in gun deaths in New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, the department of health found in 2020 that at least sixty-four percent of firearm-related deaths were suicides, thirty-two percent were homicides involving a firearm and three percent were a result of legal interventions; and

     WHEREAS, according to the federal centers for disease control and prevention, guns are now the leading cause of death among children and adolescents in the United States; and

     WHEREAS, schools have been struggling to respond to the increase in school closures due to threats, violence and school shootings; and

     WHEREAS, an increasing number of New Mexico schools have received hoax shooting calls, invoking shelter-in-place and other responses that cause disruptions at the schools; and

     WHEREAS, the lag in law enforcement response time to incidences of shootings, violence or hoaxes in rural areas is especially frustrating; and

     WHEREAS, a scarcity of law enforcement organizations, aside from the Navajo Nation police, in the rural areas from Gallup to Tohatchi to Shiprock affects response times to reports of shootings and violence; and

     WHEREAS, no reliable data exist regarding law enforcement response times in rural areas from Gallup to Tohatchi to Shiprock, an example of the gaps in data that exist; and

     WHEREAS, an everytown for gun safety study found the cost of gun violence in New Mexico to be six billion six hundred million dollars ($6,600,000,000), of which one hundred forty-one million eight hundred thousand dollars ($141,800,000) is paid by taxpayers; and

     WHEREAS, addressing the root causes of gun violence requires a comprehensive public health approach that is evidence-based and needs to involve collaboration among various stakeholders; and

     WHEREAS, a statewide task force focused on gun violence prevention could play a crucial role in identifying strategies and policies that could help to reduce the incidence of gun violence and enhance public safety; and

     WHEREAS, a statewide gun violence prevention task force could bring together diverse perspectives from law enforcement, health care professionals, community leaders, gun owners and advocates for gun violence prevention;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the crime victims reparation commission be requested to convene a statewide gun violence prevention task force to study the issue of gun violence in New Mexico and to make recommendations for addressing the issue; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the statewide gun violence prevention task force be composed of representatives of the crime victims reparation commission, the public education department, the higher education department, the department of public safety, the department of health, the health care authority department, the children, youth and families department, the department of game and fish, the university of New Mexico, Indian nations, tribes and pueblos of New Mexico, pueblo law enforcement and federal and local law enforcement agencies, gun advocates and distributors and anti-domestic violence and sexual assault groups; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the statewide gun violence prevention task force be requested to address the following objectives:

          A. to study the root causes and contributing factors of gun violence in New Mexico and identify evidence-based strategies and policies that can effectively reduce the incidence of gun violence in the state;

          B. to examine current state and federal laws related to gun ownership, possession and use and to recommend measures that can enhance public safety while respecting the second amendment rights of law-abiding citizens;

          C. to examine ways to promote public education and awareness about the risks of gun violence and the importance of responsible gun ownership and storage; and

          D. to engage with community leaders, law enforcement officials, health care professionals and other stakeholders to develop and implement effective strategies and policies to prevent gun violence and enhance public safety; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the statewide gun violence prevention task force be requested to create different stakeholder tables with different parties in order to define the problems, identify the risk and protective factors, define effective strategies and identify ways to develop and test prevention strategies; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the statewide gun violence prevention task force be requested to report its findings and conclusions to the interim committee dealing with courts, corrections and justice issues, the legislative health and human services committee and the governor; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this memorial be transmitted to the crime victims reparation commission for distribution to task force representatives.

- 5 -