Latest news with #HB134
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
NM lawmaker whose son was murdered rips Dems for ‘homicide scholarships' after her crime bill was tanked
A New Mexico lawmaker whose son was murdered by a juvenile expressed outrage this week after her criminal justice bill was tanked in favor of what some on the right are calling a "homicide scholarship" program. State Rep. Nicole Chavez of Albuquerque said Thursday she is "sickened" by the developments. "New Mexico Democrats voted to hand offenders like my son's killer $2,000 a month—some twisted reward for shattering my family," Chavez said of the "homicide scholarship" moniker first dubbed by state Rep. Rod Montoya, R-Farmington, earlier this month. That bill would provide a monthly stipend for certain former convicts under the age of 26 seeking educational opportunities or other ways to get on the proverbial straight-and-narrow, according to multiple reports. Per the text of the bill, it would provide money for the Juvenile Community Connections Fund to be used toward programs providing services for adjudicated delinquents and youth, and establish a panel to determine the next steps for a convict released from a juvenile facility. "I sponsored HB 134 to deliver justice and accountability, but they refused to come to the table," Chavez said of her original bill. Read On The Fox News App Chavez's bill, which had the support of Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, was effectively tanked by Democrats in the House – reportedly including some originally warm to it. HB 134 sought to update 1970's-era New Mexico laws outlining the criminal justice process for juveniles, including moving some violent crimes like first-degree murder for younger teen suspects to adult court. Nm Lawmakers Claim Sweeping Gun Control Bill Is 'Dems Disarming Us' Lujan Grisham and a handful of Democratic prosecutors supported the bill, according to the Piñon Post, but four Democrats in the Consumer & Public Affairs Committee successfully tabled the bill, which has yet to see further movement as the session winds down. "This is not progress—it is a knife in the heart of every parent who has buried a child," Chavez said Thursday. "New Mexico Democrats have turned their backs on victims and their families, choosing instead to reward the very criminals who destroyed our lives." Instead, the purported "homicide scholarship" bill was given a reading and passed by the House earlier this month. Montoya told the Santa Fe New Mexican the new bill, HB 255, is "a perfect example of how progressives think about crime, that the individual doesn't need to be held responsible for their actions – [in that they] need to be coddled, that they're somehow a victim themselves, and we need to make sure that they have an opportunity, and we need to do everything we can to rehabilitate them even when it means we do more for them than the victims." Lujan Grisham did not respond to requests for comment on the latter bill. NM TEENS 13 & 15 CHARGED WITH MURDER The governor approved a criminal justice package earlier this month that reportedly targeted fentanyl trafficking in the border state and dealt with suspects deemed mentally unfit for trial and grand theft auto penalties. However, she was also lambasted by Republicans for supporting what conservatives called one of the strictest pieces of gun control legislation last week. Meanwhile, another top House Republican called the "homicide scholarship" bill "another betrayal to New Mexicans." "Democrats have forced through legislation that gives juvenile murderers $2,000 monthly scholarships, funded by the sweat of hardworking taxpayers. This isn't compassion—it's a perverse reward for bloodshed, a signal to every thug that crime pays in this state," said Rep. Stefani Lord of Sandia Park. Rep. Andrea Reeb, R-Clovis, added that "Homicide Scholarships should alarm every New Mexican who fears for their safety," and that the signal sent by the bill is that "crime truly pays." "Instead of passing common-sense legislation [from Chavez] … they are playing political games at the expense of victims and taxpayers," Reeb said, while Rep. John Block, R-Alamogordo, added that in the Land of Enchantment, "victims get ignored; thugs get pampered." Fox News Digital reached out for a response from Senate President Pro-Tem Mimi Stewart and House Speaker Javier Martinez, both Albuquerque Democrats. House Majority Leader Reena Szczepanski, D-Santa Fe, also did not respond by press time. One Democrat, Rep. Andrea Romero of Santa Fe, spoke to the Albuquerque Journal about her opposition to Chavez' bill, saying that "we're talking about detaining and committing children." An Albuquerque prosecutor also cited a 57% increase in juvenile crime in a one-year period through 2023. Lujan Grisham told the paper that she will continue to urge lawmakers to "answer the call" on juvenile justice article source: NM lawmaker whose son was murdered rips Dems for 'homicide scholarships' after her crime bill was tanked
Fox News
21-03-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
NM lawmaker whose son was murdered rips Dems for ‘homicide scholarships' after her crime bill was tanked
A New Mexico lawmaker whose son was murdered by a juvenile expressed outrage this week after her criminal justice bill was tanked in favor of what some on the right are calling a "homicide scholarship" program. State Rep. Nicole Chavez of Albuquerque said Thursday she is "sickened" by the developments. "New Mexico Democrats voted to hand offenders like my son's killer $2,000 a month—some twisted reward for shattering my family," Chavez said of the "homicide scholarship" moniker first dubbed by state Rep. Rod Montoya, R-Farmington, earlier this month. That bill would provide a monthly stipend for certain former convicts under the age of 26 seeking educational opportunities or other ways to get on the proverbial straight-and-narrow, according to multiple reports. Per the text of the bill, it would provide money for the Juvenile Community Connections Fund to be used toward programs providing services for adjudicated delinquents and youth, and establish a panel to determine the next steps for a convict released from a juvenile facility. "I sponsored HB 134 to deliver justice and accountability, but they refused to come to the table," Chavez said of her original bill. Chavez's bill, which had the support of Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, was effectively tanked by Democrats in the House – reportedly including some originally warm to it. HB 134 sought to update 1970's-era New Mexico laws outlining the criminal justice process for juveniles, including moving some violent crimes like first-degree murder for younger teen suspects to adult court. Lujan Grisham and a handful of Democratic prosecutors supported the bill, according to the Piñon Post, but four Democrats in the Consumer & Public Affairs Committee successfully tabled the bill, which has yet to see further movement as the session winds down. "This is not progress—it is a knife in the heart of every parent who has buried a child," Chavez said Thursday. "New Mexico Democrats have turned their backs on victims and their families, choosing instead to reward the very criminals who destroyed our lives." Instead, the purported "homicide scholarship" bill was given a reading and passed by the House earlier this month. Montoya told the Santa Fe New Mexican the new bill, HB 255, is "a perfect example of how progressives think about crime, that the individual doesn't need to be held responsible for their actions – [in that they] need to be coddled, that they're somehow a victim themselves, and we need to make sure that they have an opportunity, and we need to do everything we can to rehabilitate them even when it means we do more for them than the victims." Lujan Grisham did not respond to requests for comment on the latter bill. The governor approved a criminal justice package earlier this month that reportedly targeted fentanyl trafficking in the border state and dealt with suspects deemed mentally unfit for trial and grand theft auto penalties. However, she was also lambasted by Republicans for supporting what conservatives called one of the strictest pieces of gun control legislation last week. Meanwhile, another top House Republican called the "homicide scholarship" bill "another betrayal to New Mexicans." "Democrats have forced through legislation that gives juvenile murderers $2,000 monthly scholarships, funded by the sweat of hardworking taxpayers. This isn't compassion—it's a perverse reward for bloodshed, a signal to every thug that crime pays in this state," said Rep. Stefani Lord of Sandia Park. Rep. Andrea Reeb, R-Clovis, added that "Homicide Scholarships should alarm every New Mexican who fears for their safety," and that the signal sent by the bill is that "crime truly pays." "Instead of passing common-sense legislation [from Chavez] … they are playing political games at the expense of victims and taxpayers," Reeb said, while Rep. John Block, R-Alamogordo, added that in the Land of Enchantment, "victims get ignored; thugs get pampered." Fox News Digital reached out for a response from Senate President Pro-Tem Mimi Stewart and House Speaker Javier Martinez, both Albuquerque Democrats. House Majority Leader Reena Szczepanski, D-Santa Fe, also did not respond by press time. One Democrat, Rep. Andrea Romero of Santa Fe, spoke to the Albuquerque Journal about her opposition to Chavez' bill, saying that "we're talking about detaining and committing children." An Albuquerque prosecutor also cited a 57% increase in juvenile crime in a one-year period through 2023. Lujan Grisham told the paper that she will continue to urge lawmakers to "answer the call" on juvenile justice reform.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
NC House advances bill to mandate labeling of meat alternatives
The North Carolina House is advancing a bill that would mandate specific labeling for meat substitute products. (Photo: The North Carolina House Agriculture and Environment Committee approved on Wednesday a bill to regulate labels for meat alternatives, moving it to the House Rules Committee. HB 134, 'Prohibit Misbranding of Certain Food Products,' requires manufacturers to mark alternative protein products differently from meat. Specifically, a label for a 'manufactured-protein food product' with an 'identifying meat term' would be required to have an 'appropriate qualifying term' such as 'cell-cultured,' 'fake,' 'lab-grown,' or 'grown in a lab' in 20-point or greater font. Meat products refer to foods made wholly or partially from meat — for example, cattle, sheep, swine, goats, bison, or deer — and excludes products that contain very small amounts of meat or have not traditionally been considered meat. Poultry products would be marketed separately. 'What we want is the consumer informed, and to the best of our ability, that's what this bill does,' Rep. Jimmy Dixon (R-Duplin, Wayne), the primary sponsor and committee chair, said. 'Properly label it.' Rep. Sarah Crawford (D-Wake) asked about the 20-point font requirement. Chris Saunders, a legislative analyst, clarified the label would need to be in either 20-point font or the size of the surrounding text, whichever is greater. 'Twenty-point font is about half an inch tall,' he said. 'Most product labels are probably going to default to the surrounding text.' Rep. Deb Butler (D-New Hanover) mentioned how moving towards self-cultured meat is likely inevitable in the future. She noted that it has the potential to reduce greenhouse emissions, cure hunger, and increase the humane treatment of animals and other creatures. But with it being new, Butler described it as a 'disruption' in the same way Uber served as a disruption to the transportation industry. Butler said she isn't opposed to accurately labeling food products, but she's concerned about the bill's implications. 'It feels like we are trying to stifle competition. It feels like we are trying to crush an industry before it gets started,' she said. 'I'm concerned that we are creating a regulatory barrier here, trying to stifle innovation rather than accurately labeling.'
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Legislative Recap Feb. 24: The potential for change
Members of the Albuquerque Justice for Youth Community Collaborative wore matching black and yellow shirts in the New Mexico Legislature on Feb. 24, 2025. (Photo by Austin Fisher / Source NM) Parents, advocates and young people with experience inside New Mexico's juvenile detention centers on Monday criticized House Bill 134, which would make it easier to prosecute children as adults, and called on lawmakers to instead invest in education, mental health treatment and job training. Tracey Chavez said she has witnessed her youngest son Timothy Chavez change over the last seven years since he was charged as an adult at age 15 for first-degree murder. 'It was challenging for him to understand the legal system, especially being treated as an adult in a system adults find hard to navigate,' Chavez said. Her son's public defender dedicated herself to helping them understand each step in the process, she said. Brandi Sedillo's first-born child Estevan Lucero also was 15 years old when he was charged with first-degree murder, and 17 when he was convicted and sentenced to 22 years in prison. She said Lucero is isolated from the rest of the incarcerated people in a unit meant for people who break prison rules. He has limited time outside, no access to the library and minimal to no interaction with others, she said. 'This isn't rehabilitation, it's psychological damage,' Sedillo said. 'Isolation, especially for a young person capable of growth, is a form of cruelty.' Chavez and Sedillo say their children's stories aren't unique but, rather, symptoms of a system that prioritizes punishment instead of rehabilitation, and 'a system that fails our children.' Chavez and Sedillo are members of Stronger Together, Never Alone, a support group for parents of incarcerated youth. They joined the Albuquerque Justice for Youth Community Collaborative at a rally in the Rotunda on Monday. Twenty-eight different groups comprise the Youth Community Collaborative, each working around juvenile justice in areas such as re-entry services and rehabilitation. Reps. Andrea Reeb (R-Clovis), Nicole Chavez (R-Albuquerque), Art De La Cruz (D-Albuquerque) and Cynthia Borrego (D-Albuquerque) are sponsoring HB 134, which awaits a hearing in the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee. Sedillo and others at the rally said they oppose HB134 on the grounds that it would lead to the incarceration of more young people. Sedillo said the bill and others like it would 'only further damage our children and push them deeper into the system.' 'It frustrates me to hear people advocate for charging minors as adults, and holding them to adult standards,' Chavez said. 'They are not adults. Their brains are still developing and they lack the maturity to think and reason like adults.' Recent court decisions and neuroscience studies suggest that young people are less culpable than adults when they commit crimes. Chavez said her son is now 22 facing three years left in prison, and he 'continues to make me proud every single day.' 'Our children deserve a justice system that recognizes their potential for change and growth,' she said. 'Charging them as adults and subjecting them to adult penalties only serves to strip them of their future and does not address the underlying issues that led to their actions.' The state's ninth record budget in nine years cleared the New Mexico House of Representatives after a three-hour debate Monday. The $10.8 billion budget represents a 5.8% increase from last year, while still keeping more than $3 billion in reserve. The reserves could prove vital should President Donald Trump cut funding to the state, Rep. Nathan Small (D-Las Cruces), chair of the House Appropriations and Finance Committee, said at a news conference ahead of the House Floor debate. 'That's our first line of defense to make sure that New Mexico is the best prepared financially, particularly when it comes to federal cuts,' Small said. The House budget's crafters did not make any changes to recurring spending levels this year in anticipation of any federal cuts, Small said. 'There's been no federal action yet, and there's a lot of different things that are out there,' he said. 'We're focused on delivering now under the rules and the laws that exist.' The budget contains a 6% increase in public education funding, allocating $4.7 billion. With the help of Medicaid funding and other federal health care spending, the budget will provide $15 billion for critical health care services, according to a news release from House Democrats. Among many other items, this budget would also spend $50 million on uranium mine cleanup, $110 million on housing in Las Cruces and Albuquerque areas and $19 million on groundwater monitoring and improvements, according to the news release. You can read the 265-page proposed budget here. 'If you're a rancher in Raton, this budget's for you. If you're a sixth grade student at Seboyeta Elementary, this budget's for you. If you're worried about affordability and access to health care in Albuquerque and any other part of the state, this budget is for you,' Small said as he wrapped up his remarks on the House Floor on Monday afternoon. House lawmakers approved the spending plan 50-18. They did so after voting down a proposal from Rep. Cathrynn Brown (R-Carlsbad) to give every New Mexico resident $600 in July, in recognition of the booming oil and gas revenue the state is currently enjoying. The budget now heads to the Senate Finance Committee and then to the Senate Floor. After both chambers reconcile changes made in the Senate, it will head to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, where she can sign the bill and also veto various provisions. House lawmakers also voted 68-0 in favor of House Bill 74, which would allow firefighters and other first responders to set up peer support groups. They voted 67-0 on House Bill 214, which would create a licensing process for doulas, so they could get reimbursed by Medicaid for providing their services. Proposed legislation that would make significant changes to New Mexico's public records law passed the House Government, Elections and Indian Affairs Committee Monday morning on a 7-1 vote with no recommendation. An amended version of the bill will be heard next by the House Judiciary Committee. The bill, sponsored by state Rep. Christine Chandler and state Sen. Linda M. Trujillo, both Democrats from Los Alamos and Albuquerque, respectively, would allow government agencies to ask anyone requesting public records whether such records would be used for commercial purposes. If so, the proposed law would allow the agencies to charge a fee of up to $30 per hour for time spent preparing the record beyond the first hour. Currently, under the state's Inspection of Public Records Act, people or entities requesting records are not required to explain why they are doing so. The bill also would create an Inspection of Public Records Task Force and require anyone who planned to take legal action over IPRA violations to first alert the government agency and allow 15 days to resolve the conflict, among other facets. Advocates for the bill representing various New Mexico cities and other government entities testified that they had become overburdened by public records requests, while noting their ongoing support for transparent government. Alison Nichols, director of policy for the New Mexico Municipal League, said the League looked at more than 200,000 individual requests from local governments in 29 cities and counties across the state and that monthly requests had doubled between 2022 and 2024. Nichols said many of those requests came from data brokers such as LexisNexis. Representatives from the City of Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Las Cruces and Española also testified in the bill's favor. Media and other organizations testified in opposition, including the Foundation for Open Government and the American Civil Liberties Union/New Mexico. Albuquerque Journal Assistant Managing Editor and FOG Board President Lucas Peerman called the bill 'well intentioned but potentially harmful,' noting: 'We feel HB283 attempts to add unnecessary red tape to the process of getting public documents, giving officials additional opportunities to deny or add barriers to information. New Mexico has some of the best open records laws in the country and has for 40 years. You can scrap this bill and keep it that way. The alternative is an environment in which corruption and cover-ups can more easily thrive.' The House Education Committee unanimously passed House Bill 65, which clarifies the state requirements for school instructional time in the Public School Code, and aligns with a recent court decision about public school calendars. The Senate Education Committee on Monday morning voted 9-0 on Senate Joint Resolution 6, which would ask voters to make the Early Childhood Education and Care Fund permanent in the state constitution. The committee voted down Senate Bill 386, which would have allowed chiropractors to join other physicians in their ability to clear students to return to class after suffering a concussion. Committee members voted 8-1 to advance Senate Bill 394 without a recommendation. The bill would set aside $1.5 million to build an observatory at the University of New Mexico's campus in Taos. They also voted 8-1 in favor of Senate Bill 201, which would require the Public Education Department to write evaluation and accountability plans for projects funded by the Public Education Reform Fund, and for the Legislative Finance Committee and Legislative Education Study Committee to have input. Senate Bill 4, the Clear Horizons Act, was still in the public comment phase before the Senate Finance committee as of press time. SB4, which would enshrine goals for the state government to reduce planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions which Gov. Michelle Lujan enacted a 2019 executive order. The legislation is one of the bills targeted in $126,000 of ads bought by oil and gas lobbyists, Capital & Main reported. Danielle Prokop contributed to the reporting and writing of this article. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
09-02-2025
- Yahoo
Lawmakers mull how to address teen gun problem after Albuquerque shooting turns deadly
It started with seven teens, one 12-year-old, several guns — and, police said, a plan to rob a couple in a Jeep nearby. By the time it was over, a 14-year-old boy, Alonzo Sanderson, was dead, shot by the man police believe he and his friends had tried to rob at gunpoint outside an Albuquerque apartment complex in late January. The man's wife had been shot twice, and a 15-year-old girl had been grazed by a bullet. The surviving six teens and the 12-year-old were taken into custody and are now facing charges. Lawmakers and authorities have pointed to the alarming incident — shocking even in Albuquerque, which has seen what police describe as an escalation in youth violence — as one that illustrates the rising level of gun crimes committed by juveniles in New Mexico and the urgency they feel to stop youth violence and cut off the flow of guns to young people. 'Juvenile gun violence is exploding,' said 2nd Judicial District Attorney Sam Bregman, whose Bernalillo County jurisdiction is the most populous in New Mexico. '... It is horrific, and we have to do something to get a handle on this.' Statewide, the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department's Juvenile Justice Services received 173 referrals for gun charges in the first six months of the current fiscal year. In the previous fiscal year, the agency received 249 — 81 more than it did in the year before. Proposals to address the problem during this year's legislative session are varied: imposing adult penalties on juveniles for more crimes, specifically outlawing gun sales to minors, and creating incentives for the safe storage of weapons. 'This devastating pattern must end,' Governor's Office spokesperson Jodi McGinnis Porter wrote in an email. '... Currently, young offenders may perceive a lack of meaningful consequences for violent crimes, auto theft and weapons violations. We must strike a careful balance — holding youth accountable for violent actions while providing the support and rehabilitation they need to choose a better path.' McGinnis Porter said Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham supports a slew of public safety bills that would help address the problem of juvenile gun crime. For example, she cited House Bill 38, which would make a state crime out of possessing devices that convert semiautomatic firearms into automatic ones — devices McGinnis Porter said authorities are increasingly finding in the hands of juveniles. The governor also has thrown her support behind House Bill 134, a measure Bregman proposed that would make sweeping changes to the state Children's Code. Those changes include requiring young people to be transferred from juvenile detention centers to adult facilities on their 18th birthday and expanding the definition of a 'serious youthful offender' — juveniles who are sentenced as adults — to include crimes other than first-degree murder, such as second-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter and armed robbery with a deadly weapon. HB 134 has become a bipartisan effort. 'For too long this [Legislature] has failed to pass laws that will keep New Mexican safe. We know what is needed to address New Mexico's crime problem, but without House and Senate Democrat support, nothing will happen,' the bill's sponsor, Republican Rep. Andrea Reeb of Clovis, said in a statement. 'It is bipartisan collaboration like this that will bring safety back to our streets.' Albuquerque gunfight Sanderson and his group were cruising around southeast Albuquerque on the night of Jan. 28 when they spotted the couple's Jeep and decided to rob them, according to a criminal complaint filed in Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court. Sanderson, holding two guns, and 15-year-old Jeriah Salas hopped out of the car and pointed their weapons at the Jeep, according to the complaint. The victims told police the two pulled open the passenger-side doors of the vehicle. The husband, in the driver's seat, pulled his own gun and fired back six times, emptying his weapon, according to the complaint. A teenage girl then jumped over the wife and started fighting with the husband, the complaint states. He hit her with his pistol to get her out of the Jeep and then began driving, reversing into the juveniles' car before leaving and going to a hospital. The woman, who was shot in the foot and the abdomen, was treated and released from the hospital hours later. The teens loaded Sanderson into their car and drove to an apartment nearby for gas money to take him to a hospital. Instead of taking him, however, they called 911. There, police found Sanderson lying on the ground with gunshot wounds. He was taken to University of New Mexico Hospital, where he died. "Detectives are investigating the death as a justifiable homicide since the husband of the victim was defending his wife and himself during an armed robbery," Albuquerque police said in a statement issued Jan. 29. The statement said, "Five teens have been arrested and two others are wanted by police in connection with the shooting." Later that day, police issued an update: A 15-year-old girl was arrested after she arrived at a hospital for treatment of a "bullet graze wound"; a 13-year-old was still on the run. The following day, police sent a second update: The 13-year-old "surrendered to police this evening. All seven teens who were charged in connection with the robbery and shooting are now in custody." All are facing charges, including Salas, who police say is charged with counts of attempted armed robbery, assault with a deadly weapon and aggravated battery. The suspects range in age from 12 to 17. In the last year, several gun incidents among teens around the state have led to injuries. Santa Fe police charged a 16-year-old boy in the apparently accidental shooting of a 15-year-old in July. Officers said the boy was "playing with" a handgun in the backseat of a car on Cerrillos Road when it fired and injured the other boy, who was driving. Española police alleged a 19-year-old from Abiquiú shot his younger brother in the face while playing with a gun in February 2024. And in September, a 16-year-old boy suffered four gunshot wounds in a shooting outside his house near Frenchy's Park. Police said they found 40 shell casings outside the home, and officers charged 21-year-old LeSean Liggins with attempted murder. Tracking firearm flow At the heart of the rising tide of juvenile gun crimes is a major question: Where are they getting their weapons? The problem has plagued Bregman, who last year implemented a policy in his office of refusing to negotiate plea deals with juveniles facing gun crimes unless they admit where they got the guns. Numbers provided by his office show guns get into youths' hands from a variety of sources. As of Jan. 7, Bregman's office had given 96 juveniles the ultimatum of admitting where they got their guns or losing out on plea agreements. Most, so far, have confessed, with 20 claiming they got them from a friend and 19 saying they got them off the social media platform Telegram. Six juveniles said they stole the guns, nine said they got them from family members and the rest who disclosed the source gave more vague answers, some claiming they got the weapons online or found them. Five so far have declined to say where they got their guns, and 25 juveniles still had cases pending and had not made a decision about disclosing where they got the guns, Bregman's office said. To curb the flow of firearms, Bregman pointed to two pieces of legislation making their way through the Roundhouse: Senate Bill 244, which would make a second-degree felony out of giving a gun to a minor, unless in appropriate circumstances like shooting competitions or hunting; and Senate Bill 255, which would make allowing or failing to prevent a gun sale through public platforms without a background check a third-degree felony. 'Someone has to be responsible for the disposition of a firearm, end of story,' Sen. Michael Padilla, D-Albuquerque, the bills' sponsor, said in an interview. 'If you illegally transfer it to a minor, you should be held accountable to what happens to that gun if you knowingly did that.' Bregman said SB 255 would allow the state to set its sights on social media platforms like Telegram. Victoria DeAnda, a freshman at the University of New Mexico, said she commonly sees young people selling firearms on the social media platform Snapchat as well. Gun sales on such apps, she noted, easily fly under the radar of adults. 'They don't know, and that's one of the biggest problems of student and youth gun violence, is that parents really don't know what's happening in their children's lives,' she said. House Bill 202, sponsored by several House Republicans as well as Rep. Meredith Dixon, D-Albuquerque, might also help address another major source of guns for juveniles. The bill would make available $750 tax credits to New Mexicans who purchase devices such as gun safes and lock boxes. 'Our state requires gun owners to responsibly store their firearms to help protect our children from gun violence. By fully covering the cost of storage safes, this legislation makes it easier to comply with this law so weapons are kept out of the hands of children,' Dixon said in a statement. Reeb, also a sponsor of HB 202, added the bill would complement the Bennie Hargrove Gun Safety Act, passed in 2023, which created a criminal charge for parents and guardians whose children got their hands on firearms because they were negligently stored. That law, named after a boy who was shot and killed by a fellow student at an Albuquerque middle school, has been used 15 times to charge people across the state, according to data provided by the Administrative Office of the Courts. Two of those cases were in Santa Fe. For all the challenges with tracking and curbing the flow of guns, young people who have them are often unsubtle about it. Wesley Clum, a senior at the private Bosque School in Albuquerque, said it's not uncommon for students around him to have access to guns at home. He added students who have guns often tout the fact they do and see the weapons as something of a status symbol. 'It's a culture of feeling powerful,' he said.
