SM 28

                                1  SENATE MEMORIAL 28
                                2    57TH LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - SECOND SESSION, 2026
                                3  INTRODUCED BY
                                4  Shannon D. Pinto and Harold Pope and Linda M. López
                                5
                                6
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                                8
                                9
                                10  A MEMORIAL
                                11   REQUESTING THE CRIME VICTIMS REPARATION COMMISSION TO CONVENE A
                                12   STATEWIDE CRIME PREVENTION TASK FORCE TO STUDY GUN VIOLENCE IN
                                13   NEW MEXICO AND TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ADDRESSING THE
                                14   ISSUE.
                                15
                                16        WHEREAS, gun violence is a serious issue affecting
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                                17   communities across the United States, including in New Mexico,
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                                18   with a significant number of deaths and injuries resulting from
                                19   gun-related incidents; and
                                20        WHEREAS, New Mexico has the third-highest overall gun
                                21   death rate in the country; and
                                22        WHEREAS, according to everytown for gun safety, gun
                                23   violence has risen in the state of New Mexico, with the gun
                                24   death rate growing by forty-five percent between 2015 and 2024,
                                25   outpacing the national increase of eighteen percent; and
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                                1  WHEREAS, the department of health found that between 2019
                                2    and 2023, guns were the second leading cause of death for
                                3    children between the ages of twelve and eighteen; and
                                4  WHEREAS, according to everytown for gun safety, firearms
                                5    are the leading cause of death for children and teens in the
                                6    United States; and
                                7  WHEREAS, every year, nearly twenty-two thousand children
                                8    and teens are shot and killed or wounded, and approximately
                                9    three million are exposed to gun violence; and
                                10        WHEREAS, schools have been struggling to respond to the
                                11   increase in school closures due to threats, violence and school
                                12   shootings; and
                                13        WHEREAS, an increasing number of New Mexico schools have
                                14   received hoax shooting calls, invoking shelter-in-place and
                                15   other responses that cause disruptions at the schools; and
                                16        WHEREAS, the lag in law enforcement response time to
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                                17   incidences of shootings, violence or hoaxes in rural areas is
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                                18   especially frustrating; and
                                19        WHEREAS, a scarcity of law enforcement organizations,
                                20   aside from the Navajo Nation police, in rural areas from Gallup
                                21   to Tohatchi to Shiprock affects response times to reports of
                                22   shootings and violence; and
                                23        WHEREAS, no reliable data exist regarding law enforcement
                                24   response times in rural areas from Gallup to Tohatchi to
                                25   Shiprock, an example of the gaps in data that exist; and
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                                1  WHEREAS, a 2025 everytown for gun safety study found that
                                2    in New Mexico, a single nonfatal gun injury results in more
                                3    than six hundred thousand dollars ($600,000) in expenses
                                4    related to law enforcement response, the criminal justice
                                5    system, medical care, lost wages and diminished quality of life
                                6    for victims and their families, and a single gun-related
                                7    homicide costs more than twelve million dollars ($12,000,000);
                                8    and
                                9  WHEREAS, combined with the state's high rate of gun
                                10   violence, New Mexico bears the fifth-highest per-capita cost of
                                11   gun violence in the nation.   At a time when the state faces
                                12   uncertainty due to reductions in federal funding, it cannot
                                13   afford to overlook a problem that costs taxpayers more than one
                                14   hundred forty million dollars ($140,000,000) annually; and
                                15  WHEREAS, addressing the root causes of gun violence
                                16   requires a comprehensive public health approach that is
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                                17   evidence-based and needs to involve collaboration among various
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                                18   stakeholders; and
                                19  WHEREAS, a statewide task force focused on gun violence
                                20   prevention could play a crucial role in identifying strategies
                                21   and policies that could help to reduce the incidence of gun
                                22   violence and enhance public safety; and
                                23  WHEREAS, a statewide crime prevention task force could
                                24   bring together diverse perspectives from law enforcement,
                                25   health care professionals, community leaders, gun owners and
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                                1    advocates for gun violence prevention;
                                2  NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE
                                3    OF NEW MEXICO that the crime victims reparation commission be
                                4    requested to convene a statewide crime prevention task force to
                                5    study the issue of gun violence in New Mexico and to make
                                6    recommendations for addressing the issue; and
                                7  BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the statewide crime prevention
                                8    task force be composed of representatives of the crime victims
                                9    reparation commission, the public education department, the
                                10   higher education department, the department of public safety,
                                11   the department of health, the health care authority, the
                                12   children, youth and families department, the department of game
                                13   and fish, the university of New Mexico, Indian nations, tribes
                                14   and pueblos of New Mexico, pueblo law enforcement and federal
                                15   and local law enforcement agencies, gun advocates and
                                16   distributors and anti-domestic violence and sexual assault
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                                17   groups; and
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                                18        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the statewide crime prevention
                                19   task force be requested to address the following objectives:
                                20  A.   to study the root causes and contributing
                                21   factors of gun violence in New Mexico and identify evidence-
                                22   based strategies and policies that can effectively reduce the
                                23   incidence of gun violence in the state;
                                24  B.   to examine current state and federal laws
                                25   related to gun ownership, possession and use and to recommend
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                                1    measures that can enhance public safety while respecting the
                                2    second amendment rights of law-abiding citizens;
                                3  C.   to examine ways to promote public education and
                                4    awareness about the risks of gun violence and the importance of
                                5    responsible gun ownership and storage; and
                                6  D.   to engage with community leaders, law
                                7    enforcement officials, health care professionals and other
                                8    stakeholders to develop and implement effective strategies and
                                9    policies to prevent gun violence and enhance public safety; and
                                10        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the statewide crime prevention
                                11   task force be requested to create different stakeholder tables
                                12   with different parties in order to define the problems,
                                13   identify the risk and protective factors, define effective
                                14   strategies and identify ways to develop and test prevention
                                15   strategies; and
                                16        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the statewide crime prevention
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                                17   task force be requested to report its findings and conclusions
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                                18   to the interim committee dealing with courts, corrections and
                                19   justice issues, the legislative health and human services
                                20   committee and the governor; and
                                21        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
                                22   transmitted to the crime victims reparation commission for
                                23   distribution to members of the statewide crime prevention task
                                24   force.
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