Attendance

Present

Caucus members:

• Pat Bartels
• ViAnn Beadle
• Jo Ann Benenati
• Cricket Courtney (Congressional District 2 Chair)
• Patricia French (Vice-Chair)
• Cheryl Harris (Chair)
• Jay Levine
• Scotti Romberg
• Susan Selbin
• Michael Sperberg-McQueen (Secretary)

Others:

• Diane Cox (Veterans and Military Families caucus)
• Anamaria Dahl
• Matthew Gonzales
• Pamelya Herndon (Rep., NM District 28)
• Deborah Mares-Baca, Moms Demand Action
• Patricia Roybal Caballero (Rep., NM District 13)
• Katie Sena

(Some of those listed were present for part but not all of the meeting.)

The chair called the meeting to order at 6:42 pm and invited the vice-chair to preside over the meeting.

PF welcomed our guests and underscored the importance of the legislation on gun violence now before the legislature.

She also noted that this is Black History Month, and Gun Violence Survivor Week. Some other legislation also merits our attention, including the bill to provide salaries for legislators.

Deborah Mares-Baca addressed the caucus on the work of Moms Demand Action and the allied group Students Demand Action. They engage in active lobbying in the legislature, but have also worked hard and successfully to elect gun-sense candidates. The result is a growing cohort of gun-sense legislators.

Among other legislation to control gun violence, DMB said Moms Demand Action’s highest-priority bills were:

• HB 72 Possession of semiautomatic firearm converter (Patricia Roybal-Caballero, Linda Lopez, and Eleanor Chavez)
• HB 50 Possession of large-capacity gun magazine (Patricia Roybal Caballero, Linda Lopez, and Eleanor Chavez)
• HB 101 Large capacity magazines and assault weapons (Andrea Romero, Linda Serrato, and Patricia Roybal Caballero)
• SB 116 21 Years old to purchase or possess firearms (Carrie Hamblen)
• HB 9 Unlawful access to firearm by minor (Pamelya Herndon, Mimi Stewart, Patricia Roybal Caballero, Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, Joanne K. Ferrary)
• SB 252 Law Enforcement Officers Procedures Act (Harold Pope, Angelica Rubio)

PF asked tghe legislators to talk about the gun violence bills they have introduced and asked how Adelante can help.

Patricia Roybal Caballero described HB 72, which controls what are called bump stocks, devices which accelerate the firing of a weapon. The bill could use Adelante’s support. PF asked what the major objection of those opposed to the bill was; PRC said that opponents mostly argue against the bill on the grounds that it restricts their Second-Amendment rights.

Pamelya Herndon discussed HB 9, which requires that firearms be securely stored. (More specifically, it makes it a misdemeanor to negligently make a firearm available to a minor; if great bodily harm or death results, the crime is a fourth-degree felony.)

CH asked what ways of lobbying for a bill will carry the most weight: public comment in committee hearings? phone calls? email? PRC and PH noted that legislators get a lot of phone calls and email. PRC urged advocates to discuss how an issue affects the legislator’s district. Personal stories are very important. A lot of opponents will remain opposed no matter what, but input from the public can be important when legislators are on the fence. Given the Democratic majorities in both chambers, the gun violence measures have a good chance of passage. But a lot depends on how much influence the opposition has with conservative rural Democrats.

The meeting adjourned at 8:15 pm.