We all know Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham isn't a fan of the right to keep and bear arms, especially that last part. After all, she tried to unilaterally declare all lawful carry of guns in Albuquerque illegal, something she was vehemently slapped down by the courts for.

Even her own part abandoned her on the effort.

But it wasn't because New Mexico Democrats are actually pro-gun. They just figured she went too far, too fast, and without the legislature to provide even the hint of legitimacy.

We know that they're not particularly pro-gun because of the bills they just passed that Grisham just signed.

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed a handful of public safety measures on Monday that strengthen restrictions on gun ownership and penalties for violent crimes.

The Democratic governor signed the four bills during a press conference at Albuquerque's West Mesa High School, where in October two students were found in possession of firearms.

"This legislation strikes at the heart of issues that are keeping New Mexicans up at night," Grisham said in a statement.

"We are losing far too many lives when guns get into the wrong hands and violent criminals are allowed to recommit again and again. This legislation addresses both."

Now, let's go ahead and note that our definition of addressing these kinds of problems and Grisham's are going to be different. Gun control isn't the answer as we've seen repeatedly, but let's approach these measures through a lens of accepting that anti-gun measures work.

Why? 

Because you'll see just how stupid this rhetoric really is.

Among the legislation signed was Senate Bill 5, which prohibits carrying firearms within 100 feet of polling and ballot dropoff locations, with exceptions in place for those with concealed-carry permits.

...

Grisham also signed House Bill 129 into law that doubles the current state waiting period to purchase a weapon to seven days, which also includes exemptions for concealed-carry permit holders and those with a Federal Fire Arms License, as well as law enforcement.

So the issues that keep New Mexicans up at night are whether someone might have a gun in a polling place and that someone might have to wait fewer than seven days to get one despite having passed a background check?

This is the major effort that will keep guns out of the wrong hands?

Even if you believe gun control works, just how is extending the waiting period and prohibiting guns at polling places really doing much of anything?

I mean, did I miss it? Are there a pile of shootings at polling places on election day? No? I didn't think so.

While plenty of people claim that there are all these threats and intimidation, including one lawmaker in the above-linked piece, actual threats and intimidation are illegal at voting precincts. Plus, people can threaten and intimidate without guns. In fact, without guns, it's easier to threaten and intimidate people because you don't have to worry about them shooting you.

Neither of these measures are going to do a thing to make New Mexico safer, even if you think gun control works, which it doesn't.

Yet there were a couple of bills that might.

The two violent crime-related bills Grisham signed Monday were S.B. 96, which strengthens penalties for 2nd-degree murder-related offices, and S.N. 271, which mandates judges to hold certain violent defendants without bond if they are accused of having committed another felony while out on bond for a previous violent offense.

While there's not much evidence suggesting a deterrence effect to harsher penalties, those penalties do help to put dangerous people somewhere that they can't hurt innocent folks. The same is true with holding them without bond.

Oddly enough, those are two bills that go against the typical Democrat grain over recent years, so I applaud Grisham for signing those. After all, unlike the other two bills, these target the real problem: People.