Attorney General office: 7‑day firearm waiting law remains in effect while federal courts sort scope of relief

The New Mexico Department of Justice updated the Senate Judiciary Committee on the federal litigation over the state's 7‑day waiting‑period law for firearm sales (Section 30‑7‑7.3), telling senators the statute remains in force while the courts decide what preliminary relief, if any, should apply statewide.

James Grayson, chief deputy at the Department of Justice, introduced Deputy Solicitor General Dan Snow to summarize the procedural posture. Snow told the committee that plaintiffs sued the day the law took effect seeking a preliminary injunction; the federal district judge (Judge Browning) denied the plaintiffs' request and upheld the law, but the Tenth Circuit later reversed that preliminary‑injunction ruling. "The Tenth Circuit... reversed the district court," Snow said, and sent the case back to the district court to decide what scope of injunctive relief is appropriate.

Grayson and Snow explained that the appellate court did not itself enter a statewide injunction but remanded the question of the appropriate scope of preliminary relief to the district court, which then scheduled a status conference for Feb. 9, 2026. Until and unless the district court issues an injunction that would bar enforcement, state officials told senators, the statute remains effective and licensed firearms dealers should comply with the law. "The law was passed. It is in effect," Grayson told the committee.

Senators pressed DOJ about how the state is communicating the current status to federally licensed firearms dealers (FFLs) and the public; DOJ officials said they had begun outreach and that the Department of Public Safety had posted information, but they could not confirm every dealer notification path. DOJ also stated that prosecution of violations is a matter of prosecutorial discretion and that individual prosecutors or law enforcement officers would determine whether to charge alleged violations pending final court orders.

The committee received no firm estimate of cumulative legal costs but was told the work was handled in‑house by attorneys from the Attorney General's Office and the governor's office rather than by outside counsel. Senators repeatedly urged clearer and broader public guidance so retailers and citizens are not left to rely on headlines as the case proceeds through the courts.