New Mexico’s anti-gun politicians are again taking aim at lawful firearms dealers, pushing a proposal that Second Amendment advocates warn could deliver the “final death blow” to the gun industry by criminalizing shops for crimes committed by others.
For longtime Albuquerque gun dealer Arnie Gallegos, the narrative pushed by these lawmakers is far removed from reality. Gallegos, who has owned ABQ Guns for 15 years, already keeps a vigilant eye out for anything suspicious. “If they’re buying, like, 15 ARs, or they’re ordering an AR every week or something like that, that’s kind of a red flag,” he said. If the buyer can’t explain the purchase, he cuts it off: “I’m sorry, we’re not going to be able to do business anymore.” He added that doing the right thing is not just about regulations—“it’s good for the community.”
But instead of targeting criminals, progressive lawmakers are preparing a sweeping bill that would target people like Gallegos—FFLs who already comply with every federal rule imaginable. At a virtual event hosted by the national gun-control group Everytown for Gun Safety, Rep. Andrea Romero and Sen. Heather Berghmans, both Democrats, revealed they are drafting legislation to increase penalties and requirements on gun stores. Behind closed doors, they intend to mandate new employee training programs, enhanced inventory surveillance, and new restrictions on what firearms can be sold—even though lawful gun dealers are already one of the most regulated sectors in the country.
Romero accused unnamed “bad actors” of repeatedly selling guns that end up in crimes, claiming they operate “without any sort of accountability whatsoever,” despite offering no evidence and ignoring the fact that knowingly selling a gun for a criminal purpose is already a felony under federal and state law.
Gun-control activists with Everytown argued that states must take the lead because the ATF supposedly “stepped back,” with adviser Marianna Mitchem asserting, “They got them from licensed gun stores.” What she did not mention: virtually every legal gun in America comes from a licensed dealer because that is how the system is designed. Their argument simply shifts blame from actual criminals to small, family-owned businesses.
Gun rights groups are sounding the alarm. Zachary Fort, president of the New Mexico Shooting Sports Association, said he has “not seen any pullback on regulation,” emphasizing that FFLs already operate under suffocating federal scrutiny. Rep. Stefani Lord said legitimate gun stores cannot afford even a single misstep: “Everybody I know is trying to do their best to make sure these guns don’t get in the hands of criminals.”
Gun dealer and New Mexico Firearms Industry Association president Erik Rasmussen echoed that point, noting the absurdity of the proposal: “To make 30 bucks or 40 bucks, to lose your license, your livelihood, and get thrown in jail—it’s absolutely not worth it.” Rasmussen said the real threat comes from gun theft, not lawful sales, pointing out that his own store has been burglarized.
Yet Everytown claims that 78% of crime guns in the state originated at licensed dealers—an obvious statistic given that nearly all firearms legally sold in the U.S. must come from a dealer. Their claim that one-third were “likely funneled” through trafficking is speculative at best, and Rasmussen flatly rejected it: “Knowingly selling a gun to a person that is buying it for somebody else — I would say that nobody in the industry is doing that.”
The New Mexico Shooting Sports Association warned on X:
“Anti gun politicians in NM are cooking up a new gun control proposal that would criminally charge a FFL for any straw purchase that happens at their store.”
Rep. Stefani Lord blasted the concept:
“Punishing the gun stores for not being psychic, but never punishing the criminals! Where do progressives dream up these crazy bills? Checks from Gifford? Soros? Moms Demand Attention?”
This looming proposal would effectively require gun stores to predict the future. As NMSSA put it, an FFL cannot possibly know whether a perfectly legal buyer is secretly acting as a straw purchaser. But that’s precisely the trap anti-gun radicals want: make compliance impossible, then punish the people they already despise.
If Democrats succeed, the burden of criminal liability will shift away from violent offenders and onto lawful gun dealers—turning New Mexico’s firearms industry into a politically convenient scapegoat. It’s not about safety. It’s about control. It’s about shutting down gun stores one regulation at a time.
And that was the goal all along.
These left wing anti gun groups will never stop. And pro-gun groups should never stop fighting for our rights.🇺🇸