SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico’s state Senate is prohibiting firearms in its public gallery and nearby rooms for the first time on Tuesday as legislators begin deliberations on red-flag legislation that would allow authorities to take guns away from people deemed dangerous to themselves or others.
Statehouse rules ordinarily allow the open carry of legally owned firearms without entranceway screening.
Restrictions and screenings for weapons have been implemented in recent years in the state House chamber for the governor’s State of the State address.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham wants to allow law enforcement officials or family members to seek court orders to seize firearms temporarily from people deemed threatening.