Where do New Mexico representatives in Congress stand on gun safety legislation?
Where do New Mexico lawmakers in Congress stand after the Texas tragedy, and are they in support of changing gun laws?Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez and Rep. Melanie Stansbury shared their frustrations with KOAT’s Kalyn Norwood on Thursday.“We cannot get 10 Republicans to pass the laws that we have passed out of the House and sent to the Senate,” Leger Fernandez said.“It’s been 441 days since we passed a universal background check and that bill has been sitting in the Senate for 441 days without any action whatsoever,” Stansbury said. “It’s just so frustrating.”They’re talking about two bills the House already passed focused on expanding background checks and requirements, H.R. 1446 and H.R. 8. This conversation took place after a Texas gunman took nearly two dozen innocent lives. According to an ABC News poll, 89% of Americans support background checks, but the bills have lacked the 10 Republican votes to pass the Senate.“What we have is republican senators paying more attention to the gun lobby than they are to the children at risk,” Leger Fernandez said.A source at the U.S. Capitol told Norwood Sen. Martin Heinrich is currently working with a bipartisan group of senators to find a path forward. In a statement, Heinrich said, “As a gun owner myself, I refuse to accept the premise that it is impossible to find agreement on policies that can help us effectively reduce gun violence and protect community safety.”Sen. Ben. Ray Lujan said they “need to abolish the filibuster & pass H.R.8.”Back in the House, New Mexico’s representatives are still pushing.“We also have other bills that we are taking up in the House and which I am a co-sponsor of and those include a red flag law and they include an assault weapons ban,” Leger Fernandez said.“And like many of the bills that I’m already co-sponsoring, that we have to make investments in the public health aspect of addressing gun violence,” Stansbury said.We reached out to Republican Rep. Yvette Herrell for an interview or statement, but have not heard back. She tweeted on the day of the shooting, “please join me in praying for the families, schoolchildren, teachers, and first responders of Uvalde.”
Where do New Mexico lawmakers in Congress stand after the Texas tragedy, and are they in support of changing gun laws?
Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez and Rep. Melanie Stansbury shared their frustrations with KOAT’s Kalyn Norwood on Thursday.
“We cannot get 10 Republicans to pass the laws that we have passed out of the House and sent to the Senate,” Leger Fernandez said.
“It’s been 441 days since we passed a universal background check and that bill has been sitting in the Senate for 441 days without any action whatsoever,” Stansbury said. “It’s just so frustrating.”
They’re talking about two bills the House already passed focused on expanding background checks and requirements, H.R. 1446 and H.R. 8. This conversation took place after a Texas gunman took nearly two dozen innocent lives. According to an ABC News poll, 89% of Americans support background checks, but the bills have lacked the 10 Republican votes to pass the…
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