Pro-2A Groups Sue New Mexico After State Defied Ruling Striking Down Gun-Waiting Period

Pro-Second Amendment organizations sued New Mexico Monday, accusing the state of defying a federal appeals court’s ruling that its waiting period for gun purchases was unconstitutional.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit struck down a waiting period on firearms purchases in August 2025 while overruling a decision in favor of New Mexico by Senior United States District Judge James O. Browning, a George W. Bush appointee. In the complaint, the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), National Rifle Association (NRA), Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and the New Mexico Shooting Sports Association accused Democratic New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez of circumventing an Aug. 28 grant of summary judgment.

“Unfortunately, New Mexico does not seem to get the message,” the groups said in their complaint. “Because the only plaintiffs in the Ortega case were two individuals, the New Mexico Department of Justice has taken the position that it may continue applying to everyone else in New Mexico a law that the Tenth Circuit has declared ‘obviously unconstitutional.’”

After the district court granted summary judgment, New Mexico officials declared that the ruling only applied to plaintiffs Paul Ortega and Rebecca Scott.

“The order only states that the two named plaintiffs are able to purchase firearms without having to go through the waiting period. The law remains in effect otherwise,” Michael Coleman, communications director for Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, told Source NM.

“New Mexico has made clear that it will not abide the Tenth Circuit’s ‘holding’ unless and until a court makes it do so,” the groups said in the complaint. “So Plaintiffs seek an order that once again declares HB129 unconstitutional in the context of firearms sales to individuals who pass the background check required under federal law and that enjoins New Mexico from enforcing the law against them, their customers, and their members.”

There is currently a “circuit split” on the constitutionality of waiting periods, making it likely the issue could be heard by the Supreme Court. Attorneys for Andrea Beckwith initially filed their petition for the justices to hear her case on Aug. 25, after the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit overturned a decision striking down Maine’s 72-hour waiting period issued by United States District Judge Lance E. Walker of the District of Maine, a Trump appointee.

In September 2023, Grisham issued an order that banned carrying firearms in parks and playgrounds in Albuquerque, New Mexico’s largest city, citing public health reasons.