U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich applauds the White House’s executive order to combat gun violence in New Mexico and across the country

SENATE news:

• • • • • The executive actions build on the progress made with Heinrich’s legislation to combat arms trafficking and straw purchasing
        • The Justice Department has charged over 600 criminals under a law written by Heinrich

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), a member of the core group of bipartisan lawmakers who negotiated and passed the bipartisan Safer Communities Act, applauded President Biden Implementing regulation The goal is to combat gun violence in New Mexico and across the country by combating the emerging threats of machine gun conversion devices and deinialized, 3D-printed firearms and improving school-based active shooter drills.

“The data is clear: Our bipartisan Safer Communities Act is working. It gives law enforcement the tools they need to prevent guns from ending up in the hands of criminals and those who would use them against our communities. Last year alone, the Department of Justice brought 298 charges against criminals under my gun trafficking and straw purchasing legislation. In New Mexico, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico has charged 11 defendants using this new law.

“But it is clear that we still have so much work to do. This executive order is an important step toward addressing our country’s gun violence crisis – improving active shooter drills in our schools and cracking down on non-serialized, 3D-printed weapons and machine gun conversion devices.

“It is time for Congress to pass my GOSAFE Act – commonsense gun safety legislation that upholds safe and responsible gun ownership while banning machine gun conversion devices such as bump stocks and preventing firearms designed for maximum damage from entering the… Hands fall from those who represent a weapon.” Threat to self or others. I will not stop advocating for law enforcement to have the tools it needs to fight crime and keep our communities safe.”

Heinrich’s long-standing leadership role in combating gun violence:

As a gun owner and father, Heinrich has long worked to advance and pass bipartisan policies that save lives, protect public safety and reduce gun violence.

The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) was the first significant federal gun safety legislation to take effect in 30 years. During the legislative negotiations, Heinrich notably worked with U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) to increase penalties for straw purchases and stop the illegal trafficking of firearms from our country.

Regulations on arms trade and straw purchases headed by Heinrich:

The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act provisions introduced by Heinrich increased criminal penalties for straw buyers and made trafficking in firearms from the United States a felony for the first time ever. Straw buyers are people who purchase guns for those who cannot purchase them directly themselves due to their age, criminal convictions or other limitations. By increasing penalties for straw purchases, Heinrich’s Prevention helps keep guns out of the hands of criminals and those who would use them against our communities. By making the trafficking of firearms out of the country illegal, Heinrich’s provision gave law enforcement the tools they needed to prosecute and stop the flow of firearms into Mexico and the Northern Triangle, which fueled the violence that so has driven many to flee their home countries.

So far, the Justice Department has More than 600 defendants charged using BSCA gun trafficking and straw purchasing laws, Hundreds of firearms were removed from the streets. These cases are significant and often involve the prevention and prosecution of extremely dangerous activities, such as crimes related to organized human trafficking rings and transnational criminal organizations.

For example, in March 2024, the Ministry of Justice Charges filed against several defendants The trade and straw purchase purchased over 100 firearms, including many military-grade weapons, that were allegedly intended for smuggling to a Mexican drug cartel. In April a defendant was sentenced to 276 months in prison on charges of firearm trafficking and straw purchasing and distribution of fentanyl, with evidence showing that two of the firearms trafficked had been used in gang-related shootings. At the end of last year, a defendant was sentenced to two years in prison for operating an illegal gun trafficking business in which he repeatedly took money to lie on firearm purchase forms and obtain weapons for convicted felons.

In New Mexico, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico has charged 11 defendants with BSCA violations.

In June, Heinrich brought his Illegal Machine Gun Parts Prohibition Act (BUMP).bipartisan legislation to ban bump stocks, for Senate chamber through a unanimous consent request (UC). The effort came on the heels of a recent Supreme Court ruling striking down a Trump-era ban on bump stocks. These are devices designed to indiscriminately kill as many people as possible in the shortest possible time. U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.) objected to Heinrich’s UC proposal and blocked the bill’s passage. Since the Supreme Court ruling Over 20 senators signed Heinrich’s BUMP Actwhich represents support from over a quarter of the Senate.

Heinrich, U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and former Senator Jeff Flake (R-Arizona) originally introduced the BUMP Act in the 115th Congress, following the mass shooting on October 1, 2017 A mass shooting occurred earlier, when more than 1,000 bullets were fired into a crowd in just 10 minutes, killing 60 people. U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) also supported this legislation.

LasT November, introduced Heinrich the Gas-Powered Semi-Automatic Firearms Exclusion Act (GOSAFE).Legislation to protect communities from gun violence while preserving Americans’ constitutional right to own a firearm for legitimate self-defense, hunting, and sporting purposes. In addition to regulating the sale, transfer, and manufacture of gas-operated semi-automatic weapons, the GOSAFE Act would also prevent unlawful modifications of permitted firearms, including bump stocks. At the beginning of summer, Heinrich announced that its GOSAFE Act has been introduced in the House of Representatives from U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath (D-Ga.).

In May, Heinrich announced over $1 million secured in the FY24 Appropriations Bills Purchase of new National Integrated Ballistics Information Network (NIBIN) ballistics testing machines for law enforcement agencies in Las Cruces, Farmington, Gallup and Roswell. The information collected by these machines will be forwarded to the New Mexico Attorney General’s Crime Gun Intelligence Center, where dedicated and trained analysts will use the information to track and network firearms used in crimes across the state. The center can then pass this information on to law enforcement to improve suspect identification and support successful prosecutions.

In March, in the FY24 Appropriations Bills, also Heinrich Secured language guiding expanded use of NIBIN for state and local governments in the southwest border region.

In July 2023, Heinrich co-sponsored the bicameral Ghost Guns and Untraceable Firearms Act, led by Blumenthal, requires online and other gun kit sellers to comply with federal firearms safety regulations.

In 2017, Henry co-sponsored the bipartisan Fix NICS Actwhich now requires federal and state agencies to create background check implementation plans and makes federal agencies responsible for reporting relevant criminal records to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). Him too led the successful call to repeal the Dickey Amendmentwhich had previously blocked the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from funding research on gun violence and its impact on public health.