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Senate Approves Concealed-Handgun Bill
By BEN NEARY | The New Mexican 02/22/2003
New Mexicans could obtain permits to carry concealed handguns under a bill approved Friday by the state Senate.
The Senate voted 32-9 to approve Senate Bill 23, sponsored by Sen. Shannon Robinson, D-Albuquerque. The bill now goes to the House.
"People want this to happen," Robinson said on the Senate floor. "In my area, people need this to happen."
Under state law, people may carry handguns openly but may only carry them concealed on their own property or in their cars. Robinson maintains that issuing concealed-carry permits to citizens who pass training programs and background checks will cut down on violent crime.
Sen. Michael Sanchez, D-Belen, sponsored an amendment that would specify people would lose their pistol license and face misdemeanor charges if they were caught carrying their gun while intoxicated.
State law prohibits negligent carrying of a firearm, Robinson responded. Anyone who carries a gun while intoxicated would be in violation of that law and would lose their pistol permit.
But negligent use of a handgun is only a petty misdemeanor, Sanchez responded. His proposed amendment would make carrying a concealed handgun while intoxicated a full misdemeanor with a graduated penalty program that would make a fourth offense a felony.
Sen. William Sharer, R-Farmington, said he supported Sanchez's proposal.
"You shouldn't be driving a car while you're drunk, and you shouldn't be carrying a handgun while you're drunk," Sharer said.
Sen. Manny Aragon, D-Albuquerque, also agreed with Sanchez's proposal.
"If they're going to be all they say they're going to be - law-abiding citizens - then they shouldn't be carrying a handgun under the influence," Aragon said.
Sen. Roman Maes, D-Santa Fe, also expressed concern about the prospect of people carrying guns while drinking.
"This is not a laughing matter," Maes said. "You're talking about a gun. A gun that can very easily end your life.
"The idea of a person walking around with a gun and not putting any measures on them, I think is ridiculous."
Robinson, a criminal-defense lawyer, said that district attorneys in the state do prosecute people for negligent use of firearms. He said he believed Sanchez was offering the amendment for the purpose of spinning the bill into a difficult debate.
"All they're doing is putting a tail on this dog and seeing what result they can create," Robinson said.
The Senate split 20-20 on Sanchez's amendment. Lt. Gov. Diane Denish wasn't presiding over the Senate, so the proposed amendment died on the tie vote.
Gilbert Gallegos, spokesman for Gov. Bill Richardson, said Friday, "Gov. Richardson will support concealed-weapons legislation that provides for appropriate training and sufficient safeguards and licensing standards."
A bill to allow concealed carrying of handguns was signed into law two years ago but was later rejected by the courts because it contained an unconstitutional local-option provision that would have allowed municipalities to prohibit concealed guns within their limits. Robinson's bill has no such local-option provision.
And while the bill that passed four years ago specified that handgun licenses would have to be renewed annually, Robinson's bill calls for licenses to last for four years.
The Senate on Friday defeated a suggested amendment from Sanchez to require annual licensing. Nonetheless, the question of annual licensing will apparently remain.
David Heshley, executive director of the New Mexico Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police, said Friday that Robinson's bill isn't good for the people of the state and that the four-year license provision is "entirely too long."
Performing a criminal-background check once a year as a condition of license renewal would show whether people holding permits have been convicted of crimes in the preceding year that would void their license, Heshley said.
Mike Bowen, lobbyist for several police associations in New Mexico, said his groups are neutral on Robinson's bill but probably would support any effort to shorten the licensing term to one year.
Copyright 2003 Santa Fe New Mexican
