New Mexico Doesn’t Want You Teaching Your Kids About Guns

A New Mexico Democratic state senator just introduced a gun control proposal that could criminalize parents for teaching their children how to shoot firearms if the children are not considered an “authorized user.” The bill was introduced to supposedly “keep firearms safe” and inaccessible to any person other than the owner or authorized user.

Senate Bill 224 was introduced by anti-gun Sen. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez who is looking to get Bloomberg’s support in her 1st Congressional District campaign. “It is an offense for a firearm owner or authorized user to store or keep a firearm in any premises unless the firearm is secured in a locked container or secured by a gun lock or other means so as to render the firearms inaccessible or unusable to any person other than the owner or authorized user,” the bill reads.

It goes on to explain that a person could be fined up to $500 for failing to do so or up to $1,000 if a minor or “at-risk” person obtains the firearm. The bill can also criminalize you if a minor were allowed access to the firearm. You could be charged if he or she is not at least twelve years of age and successfully completed a firearms safety training course. Basically, you can get charged with a misdemeanor for teaching your kid how to shoot even if it’s your own gun and on your own property.

“You would become a criminal for taking your child to go shooting if they had not previously taken some kind of formal class. The bill is an uneducated attempt to demonize firearms. … It is already a crime to place a child in a situation that endangers their life, this law does nothing to add to a child’s safety,” said the New Mexico Shooting Sports Association.

They write that the bill is “completely unenforceable” unless the government plans on conducting door-to-door inspections. You could be charged with a crime under the bill, as well as being held liable if a prohibited possessor gains access to your firearms. “Instead of taking on the issue of the crime wave that has engulfed Albuquerque and other parts of the state, Sedillo Lopez wants to blame you, someone just seeking to defend yourself, if your firearm is stolen,” the NMSSA adds.

The safest thing to do is have kids experience the power of a real gun. Democrats would rather kids’ only experience come from video games, where they’ve learned to be completely ignorant to gun safety. Teaching kids to hold and shoot a gun, while understanding the magnitude of its power, is the only way to enable a society that handles guns safely.