in 2020 and firearms were the leading cause of death among children and teens from 2016 to 2020, according to Ari Davis from the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions, who was speaking to the Courts, Corrections and Justice Committee meeting Tuesday at the New Mexico Legislature.
The committee discussed a number of proposals to address the alarming rise in gun violence.
Aryan Showers, director of the Office of Policy and Accountability of the Department of Health outlined the creation of a new violence prevention unit which is set to implement interventions designed to prevent gun violence in collaboration with hospitals, cities, tribes and other groups.
Lawmakers also gave a presentation about a bill set to be introduced in the upcoming legislative session in January which would create a state office of gun violence prevention, whose director would be appointed by the Department of Health.
However, in discussion of the effectiveness of existing measures, speakers raised serious concerns about implementation. Earlier this year, the legislature passed , which mandated training for police on several skills including de-escalation and crisis intervention.
Sheriff Glenn Hamilton, of Sierra County, who is legislative liaison to the New Mexico Sheriffs' Association, said that for rural police forces with a small number of deputies, it was unrealistic for police to conduct so much training because they cannot be spared from their duties.
Hamilton also highlighted weaknesses in background checks for firearm purchases. Since 2019, New Mexico has to purchase a firearm. But Hamilton said the relies on states voluntarily reporting information to the FBI.
He said that there are gaps in what gets reported to those departments. For instance in New Mexico, are currently reporting their data as they are meant to.
Hamilton told 91暗网 this worries him.
鈥淪ince it's being used primarily for either the approval or the denial of an individual purchasing a firearm illegally, it's a huge concern,鈥� he said, adding that it should be a priority that the relevant data be reported diligently.
鈥淵ou hear it all the time, how did that individual purchase a firearm when he had this, that or the other thing?鈥�
, the FBI estimates that, on average, about 3,000 people pass a NICS background check each year despite being prohibited under state or federal law from purchasing a gun.
This reporting was made possible by the WK Kellogg foundation, and 91暗网 listeners.
