STUDY GUN VIOLENCE

SM028

SENATE MEMORIAL 28

57
th legislature
- STATE OF NEW MEXICO -
second session
, 2026

INTRODUCED BY

Shannon D. Pinto and Harold Pope and Linda M. López

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE CRIME VICTIMS REPARATION COMMISSION TO CONVENE A
STATEWIDE CRIME 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 in New Mexico,
with a significant number of deaths and injuries resulting from
gun-related incidents; and

WHEREAS, New Mexico has the third-highest overall gun
death rate in the country; and

WHEREAS, according to everytown for gun safety, gun
violence has risen in the state of New Mexico, with the gun
death rate growing by forty-five percent between 2015 and 2024,
outpacing the national increase of eighteen percent; and

WHEREAS, the department of health found that between 2019
and 2023, guns were the second leading cause of death for
children between the ages of twelve and eighteen; and

WHEREAS, according to everytown for gun safety, firearms
are the leading cause of death for children and teens in the
United States; and

WHEREAS, every year, nearly twenty-two thousand children
and teens are shot and killed or wounded, and approximately
three million are exposed to gun violence; 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 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, a 2025 everytown for gun safety study found that
in New Mexico, a single nonfatal gun injury results in more
than six hundred thousand dollars ($600,000) in expenses
related to law enforcement response, the criminal justice
system, medical care, lost wages and diminished quality of life
for victims and their families, and a single gun-related
homicide costs more than twelve million dollars ($12,000,000);
and

WHEREAS, combined with the state's high rate of gun
violence, New Mexico bears the fifth-highest per-capita cost of
gun violence in the nation. At a time when the state faces
uncertainty due to reductions in federal funding, it cannot
afford to overlook a problem that costs taxpayers more than one
hundred forty million dollars ($140,000,000) annually; 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 crime 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 crime 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 crime 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, 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 crime 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 crime 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 crime 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 copies of this memorial be
transmitted to the crime victims reparation commission for
distribution to members of the statewide crime prevention task
force.

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