Renato Costa

In a post made on X, formerly Twitter, the anti-gun group New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence (NMPGV), run by Democrats’ anti-gun darling Miranda Viscoli, announced in so many words that it was breaking the law — then kept on digging itself in a hole when challenged.

“Pictured are unwanted firearms from one household in Farmington, NM.  Our gun buyback was [canceled] by the City, but local residents asked us to show up anyway. So, we spent today dismantling guns house by house,” wrote the group, with a photo accompanying the post. The post immediately sparked a fierce response.

“The @NMStatePolice should investigate a private party going door to door and sawing people’s guns in half without doing a background check as required for a transfer in New Mexico.  The @FBI and @ATFHQ (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) should also look into this since a private group does NOT have the ability to check NCIC to see if they are now in possession of a stolen firearm. So many crimes committed by this anti-gun group” posted state Rep. Stefani Lord (R-Sandia Park).

In 2019, the state Legislature passed S.B. 8, which Viscoli advocated in support of on behalf of her group. The group holds ineffective gun “buybacks,” which pay people for willingly giving up to the group, which then turns the firearms into gardening tools.

Following its enactment, the group posted on then-Twitter, “@NMPGVnow thanks @GovMLG for signing the background check bill  into law! She is the first Governor in the history of New Mexico to have the courage to say NO WAY to the NRA and the corporate gun lobby.” 

“Anti gun group @NMPGVnow takes advantage of the ability to transfer/aquire firearms without a background check to destroy them, posts publicly about it, without even a hint of irony,” wrote the pro-gun account Mrgunsgear. 

NMPVG clapped back at the account, writing, “There was no transfer of firearms but keep trying.” 

State Rep. John Block (R-Alamogordo) wrote to NMPVG, “Just so you understand, the passing of the firearm from one party (them) to another (you) = a TRANSFER!”

S.B. 8, however, explicitly notes, “Unlawful sale of a firearm without a background check consists of the sale of a firearm without conducting a federal instant background check.” It adds further that “‘sale’ means the delivery or passing of ownership, possession or control of a firearm for a fee or other consideration, but does not include temporary possession or control of a firearm provided to a customer by the proprietor of a licensed business in the conduct of that business.” Since NMPVG is not an FFL or licensed business, it is not in compliance with the law enacted by S.B. 8.

New Mexico Shooting Sports Association (NMSSA) wrote to NMPVG, “Shoutout to 

@NMPGVnow for joining forces with the ‘rogue sheriffs’ and ‘bad-faith critics’ by refusing to comply with laws criminalizing private firearm transfers in NM,” referencing a social media post by Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham who lambasted many of the state’s sheriffs for refusing to enforce the anti-gun law.

Again, New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence argued, “There was no transfer of firearms? Dismantling a gun onsite is not a transfer.”

To Rep. Lord’s post, NMPVG wrote, “We have been doing this for years. Often, police give people our phone number when they want to turn in an unwanted firearm. This doesn’t violate any background check laws as there is no transfer of firearms.  We simply dismantle them.  All that is left is wood and metal.” 

Rep. Block responded, “So, you’ve been breaking the law for years?”

NMPVG continued to dig in on its post, with critics panning the group’s absurd flex on social media, which appeared to show it flagrantly breaking the law that its leadership fervently supported passing in 2019.

“Congratulations on committing several felonies,” one X user wrote, while another chimed in, “Look at all those perfectly good firearms that we’re never once used in a crime and never would have been.”