Federal Appeals Court Halts New Mexico’s Seven-Day Waiting Period for Gun Purchases, Likely Infringing on Second Amendment Rights

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has decided that New Mexico’s seven-day waiting period for gun purchases may encroach upon citizens’ Second Amendment rights, temporarily halting the law’s enforcement pending a legal dispute.

In this ruling, the court has remanded the case to a lower tribunal. The legislation, which came into effect in May 2024 and includes an exception for concealed weapon permit holders, is now being questioned.

Judge Matteson Tymkovich, in a divided 2-1 decision, asserted that “cooling-off periods do not align with any historically rooted exceptions to the right to bear arms as protected by the Second Amendment, and they impose an undue burden on conduct falling within its purview.”

The court’s decision finds that New Mexico’s Waiting Period Act is likely unconstitutional in its infringement upon citizens’ Second Amendment rights. Two New Mexico residents filed a lawsuit, expressing concerns about the potential delayed acquisition of firearms for those vulnerable to domestic violence and others.

Democratic state legislators enacted these restrictions with the aim of facilitating more time for the completion of federal background checks on gun buyers. Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham had previously promised that this law would aid in addressing what she described as a significant crime issue within the state.