OPINION: New Mexico's gun crimes aren't a mystery — they're being sold in our backyard

When law enforcement recovers a gun at a crime scene in New Mexico, we can usually trace where it came from. More often than not, the answer is uncomfortably close to home. In 2023, police recovered and traced nearly 5,000 crime guns statewide. Seventy-eight percent were originally sold by licensed dealers, and most were sold right here in New Mexico.

Even more alarming, nearly half of those guns were bought less than three years before they were used in a crime. That’s a major “red flag” for gun trafficking — it means these weapons are moving from store shelves to crime scenes at lightning speed. The data tells us something we can no longer ignore: New Mexico’s gun violence crisis is being driven by a broken in-state supply chain.

I’ve spent years working gun cases alongside local, state and federal partners. I’ve looked down the barrel of a gun and survived while serving as sheriff. I don’t just see numbers on a page, I see lives interrupted and families shattered.

We need to stop the flow of these weapons before they ever find their way into the hands of criminals. That’s why I’m proud to support the Stop Illegal Gun Trade and Extremely Dangerous Weapons Act (Senate Bill 17).

Gun trafficking is a steady flow. It shows up when deputies recover a firearm from someone who never bought the gun from a gun store. It shows up when the same dealer’s name appears repeatedly in trace reports. In Doña Ana County, we see illegal guns moving in both directions, including south to arm cartels. These guns start their journey as legal purchases made in bulk, often by “straw purchasers” who buy them for people who aren’t legally allowed to own them. Between 2022 and 2023, New Mexico gun dealers supplied the fourth-highest number of crime guns recovered in Mexico of any state in the country. 

One recent case paints a clear picture. One single trafficker purchased 82 firearms from Albuquerque-area dealers. Sixty-two of the 82 were nearly identical receivers — bulk purchases of similar firearms is a known red flag that dealers should have identified. Within four years, 12 of those guns were found at crime scenes — six in New Mexico and six in Mexico. While those guns were out causing chaos, the dealers who sold them remained open for business as usual. It’s important to understand that a small number of sellers are driving a large share of the harm.

New Mexico has roughly 670 active federal firearms licensees, but the data shows a striking trend: A tiny fraction of these sellers, about 15%, make up 90% of illegal firearm sales. In enforcement terms, that means a relatively small number of sellers are accounting for a disproportionate share of harm.

SB 17 is about common sense and accountability. This legislation strengthens oversight of gun dealers and asks them to do what almost every responsible dealer already does: secure their inventory, keep accurate records and train employees to spot suspicious sales. The bill also prohibits the sale of military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.

These are not radical ideas. If you run a pharmacy or a liquor store, you have standards to ensure that your product doesn’t end up in the wrong hands. Why should a gun store be any different? Most of our gun dealers are already responsible neighbors; SB 17 is aimed at the small number who sell guns that keep showing up in evidence lockers.

Once a trafficked weapon hits the street, our options for safety disappears. Prevention is cheaper, more effective and saves more lives.

New Mexico has already taken important steps to address gun violence, including background checks and straw-purchasing laws. SB 17 is the missing piece of the puzzle that addresses the supply chain. The data tells us where the guns are coming from. Our daily headlines show us where they end up. SB 17 gives us the power to intervene before the next trigger is pulled. Let’s choose to protect our families by stopping the flow of crime guns at the source.

Stopping the flow of trafficked guns will make New Mexico safer. SB 17 is how we do it.

Kim Stewart is the sheriff of Doña Ana County.