HM 65

                                1  HOUSE MEMORIAL 65
                                2      57TH LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - SECOND SESSION, 2026
                                3  INTRODUCED BY
                                4  E. Diane Torres-Velásquez and Pamelya Herndon
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                                10  A MEMORIAL
                                11   REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, IN COLLABORATION WITH THE
                                12   DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY, TO CONVENE A TASK FORCE TO CONDUCT
                                13   RESEARCH ON HEALTH AND FIREARM SAFETY POLICY AND TO MAKE
                                14   RECOMMENDATIONS TO REDUCE FIREARM VIOLENCE IN NEW MEXICO.
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                                16        WHEREAS, firearm safety is a public issue; and
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                                17        WHEREAS, firearm violence is a public health crisis; and
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                                18        WHEREAS, a 2024 report from Johns Hopkins center for gun
                                19   violence solution highlights the ongoing crisis of firearm-
                                20   related deaths in the United States, including fatalities among
                                21   children; and
                                22        WHEREAS, between 2019 and 2023, firearm-related deaths
                                23   were the second leading cause of death for children; and
                                24        WHEREAS, firearm-related deaths take an average of twenty-
                                25   four years away from their victims; and
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                                1  WHEREAS, domestic violence assaults involving a firearm
                                2    are twelve times more than likely to result in death than those
                                3    involving other weapons or bodily force; and
                                4  WHEREAS, the collective responsibility of society is to
                                5    safeguard the health and safety of its members, including from
                                6    firearm harms; and
                                7  WHEREAS, firearm violence is a complex problem that must
                                8    be met with a wide range of solutions; and
                                9  WHEREAS, firearm violence exacts an enormous toll on
                                10   American society, claiming tens of thousands of lives each
                                11   year; and
                                12  WHEREAS, more than one million Americans have been shot in
                                13   the past decade, and nearly everyone in the United States will
                                14   know at least one victim of firearm violence in their lifetime;
                                15   and
                                16  WHEREAS, in 2023, New Mexico had the fourth highest
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                                17   overall firearm-related death rate in the country; and
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                                18  WHEREAS, according to the department of health, suicides
                                19   rose by nine percent in 2024, with firearms accounting for
                                20   sixty percent of the cases; and
                                21  WHEREAS, alcohol misuse is highly associated with both
                                22   homicides and suicides, and New Mexico ranks first for the most
                                23   deaths attributable to alcohol abuse, which includes both
                                24   chronic diseases like cirrhosis and injuries like homicide and
                                25   suicide; and
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                                1  WHEREAS, gun violence continues to be a significant public
                                2    health problem in New Mexico and in the United States; and
                                3  WHEREAS, as global temperatures rise because of climate
                                4    change, suicide rates are likely to rise as well; and
                                5  WHEREAS, in 2023, New Mexico had the highest rate of gun
                                6    suicide among young people and New Mexico had a gun suicide
                                7    rate three times the national average; and
                                8  WHEREAS, research has shown a significant intersection
                                9    between gun violence and alcohol accessibility and misuse; and
                                10        WHEREAS, there have been two thousand nine hundred
                                11   eighty-one school shooting incidents from 1966 to 2025 in the
                                12   United States; and
                                13        WHEREAS, during the 2024-2025 school year, the Albuquerque
                                14   public school district recovered fifteen firearms;
                                15        NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF
                                16   REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the department
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                                17   of health, in collaboration with the department of public
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                                18   safety, be requested to convene a task force to conduct
                                19   research on health and firearm safety policy and to make
                                20   recommendations to reduce firearm violence in New Mexico; and
                                21        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force review and
                                22   consider the following:
                                23  A.   effective firearm licensing laws and
                                24   regulations;
                                25  B.   effective policies on semiautomatic and large
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                                1    capacity magazines;
                                2  C.   data demonstrating the effects of identifying if
                                3    any group should be prohibited by law from owning or purchasing
                                4    a firearm, especially relating to previous driving while
                                5    intoxicated convictions;
                                6  D.   alignment of state and federal laws on the
                                7    consequences of a felon in possession of a firearm;
                                8  E.   tobacco and firearms licensing prior to granting
                                9    a new retail license of a new gun or liquor stores; and
                                10  F.   consideration of toxicology in perpetrators of
                                11   gun violence; and
                                12        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force be composed of
                                13   representatives from the department of health; the department
                                14   of public safety; health care entities and hospitals; the
                                15   children, youth and families department; the public education
                                16   department; the New Mexico school boards association; community
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                                17   and prevention stakeholders; the administrative office of the
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                                18   courts; police chiefs of Albuquerque, Las Cruces or Santa Fe;
                                19   the Albuquerque community safety department; moms demand action
                                20   for gun sense in America; and Indian nations, tribes and
                                21   pueblos in New Mexico; and
                                22        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the task force be requested to
                                23   report its findings and conclusions to the representatives of
                                24   the task force, the interim legislative committee dealing with
                                25   courts, corrections and justice issues and the legislative
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                                1    health and human services committee by September 15, 2026; and
                                2  BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
                                3    transmitted to the secretary of health, the secretary of public
                                4    safety and the governor.
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