NEW POLL: Bipartisan Majority of New Mexicans Overwhelmingly Support Stronger Gun Safety Laws, an Assault Weapons Ban

62% of Respondents Support an Assault Weapons Ban, Including More than Half of Gun Owners 

Today Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action Volunteers Will Rally in Santa Fe to Call for the Passage of SB 279 to Ban Assault Weapons in New Mexico

SANTA FE, N.M. —  Today, Everytown for Gun Safety and its grassroots network, the New Mexico chapters of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, unveiled new polling showing strong bipartisan support strengthening New Mexico’s gun laws and passing an assault weapons ban. Specifically, the polling showed a bipartisan majority support key gun safety policies currently under consideration in the New Mexico State Legislature, including GOSAFE, which would ban the sale, transfer, and receipt of gas-operated semi-automatic rifles and large-capacity magazines. 

“As lawmakers debate strengthening our state’s gun safety laws, this polling shows a clear support from New Mexican voters to keep weapons of war off our streets and save lives,” said Alexis Jimenez, a volunteer with the New Mexico chapter of Moms Demand Action. “For far too long our families have been haunted at supermarkets, movie theaters and parks by the risks of weapons of war – a ban on assault weapons will reinstate our right to be safe in the places we cherish. We look forward to working with our gun sense leaders in Santa Fe to pass gun safety measures that put New Mexico families first and the gun industry last.” 

This polling underlines the overwhelming support for gun safety and the need for urgent action on gun safety with 81% of respondents thinking that gun violence prevention should be a priority for lawmakers this legislative session. 

Toplines from the Poll: 

• 72% of respondents said that the New Mexico Legislature has more work to do to address the issues of gun safety and gun crime. 
• 64% of respondents support a new effort to regulate assault weapons focused on the gun’s internal mechanisms – preventing manufacturers from easily getting around regulations by slightly modifying the firearm.
• 63% of respondents support the proposed GOSAFE law, which takes a novel approach to preventing far-too-common mass shootings by prohibiting the sale, transfer, and receipt of gas-operated semi-automatic rifles and large-capacity magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition.

Strong Bipartisan Support for Gun Safety: 

• 62% of respondents support an assault weapons ban, including 53% of gun owners responding in support of an assault weapons ban.
• 61% of respondents support banning kits or devices that can be used to convert a semi-automatic rifle into a fully automatic rifle, including 56% of conservative respondents indicating support for banning kits or devices that can be used to convert a semi-automatic rifle into a fully automatic rifle.

The polling demonstrates that gun safety is a unifying and urgent issue across the political spectrum and including gun owners and non-gun-owners alike, underscoring that an overwhelming majority of New Mexicans agree on taking these common-sense solutions. To read the full polling memo click here. 

Last session, New Mexico became the first state in the nation to advance this novel legislation,  modeled after Senator Heinrich’s federal bill, which prohibits the sale, transfer, and receipt of gas-operated semi automatic firearms and large-capacity magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition. This includes weapons commonly used in mass tragedies, and military-style rifles that, especially when paired with large-capacity magazines, allow mass shooters to unleash destructive, rapid-fire barrages on unsuspecting victims in seconds. This session, lawmakers have a new opportunity to save lives.  

The rate of gun deaths has increased 59% from 2014 to 2023 in New Mexico, compared to a 34% increase nationwide. In an average year, 526 people die by guns. With a rate of 25.2 deaths per 100,000 people, New Mexico has the 3rd-highest rate of gun deaths in the US. More information about gun violence in New Mexico is available here. 

To speak with a New Mexico Moms Demand Action or Students Demand Action volunteer, about GOSAFE, please reach out to [email protected].