SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) – A push to hold gun owners accountable if minors get ahold of their guns is moving ahead in the Roundhouse. Thursday night, a House committee approved the Bennie Hargrove Gun Safety Bill named after the Washington Middle Schooler who was shot and killed last year. The bill would require parents to keep their guns locked up or else face criminal charges if a child uses their gun to commit a crime.
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Thursday, the bill’s sponsors fielded concerns from fellow lawmakers that the proposal is overreaching and unnecessary. “There is no protecting or preventing access to a gun by a minor on any bill, on any law in the state of New Mexico. We’re one of 20 states that do not have the law. That’s the reason we’re bringing this bill in the first place,” said representative Pamelya Herndon (D-Albuquerque).
The bill now advances to another committee.
