On Friday, March 21, three teenagers were killed and 15 others were injured during a mass shooting at a park in Las Cruces.
The pain of this tragedy is amplified by how preventable it was. We know that assault weapons and high capacity magazines make shootings far deadlier, and that banning them makes it much less likely that tragedies like this will happen in our communities. But just hours after this shooting, New Mexico's state lawmakers closed out their state legislative session without having passed the gun safety legislation we needed, including the assault weapons ban that you fought so hard to pass.
In the wake of this tragedy, Governor Lujan Grisham is calling for a special session in New Mexico. We can't let this moment—in which grieving families in Las Cruces and communities across New Mexico must face how vulnerable we remain to these mass killings—pass without holding our legislators' feet to the fire and requiring they do better. This needs to be a wake up call for our lawmakers.
Send a message to State Senators today telling them to vote YES on the Assault Weapons Ban during the special session.
New Mexico lawmakers caved to the gun industry and didn’t bring the Assault Weapons Ban to a vote this legislative session. This is shameful, but we have a chance to make sure they don’t get away with it.
Send your message now:
Dear Lawmaker,
In the wake of this weekend's mass shooting in Las Cruces, we need more than thoughts and prayers. We need action.
You closed out the legislative session last week without passing an assault weapons ban–legislation that we know can save lives. This is unacceptable.
Assault weapons are high-powered semi-automatic weapons that, when equipped with high capacity magazines, can shoot dozens of rounds, and be reloaded with dozens more, all in seconds. They're designed to kill as many people as possible as quickly as possible, and there's no reason they should be in our communities.
During the upcoming special session, I urge you to vote YES on an assault weapons and high capacity magazine ban, SB 279. We cannot let this year go by without taking action–and the tragedy in Las Cruces is a devastating reminder of what is at stake.