New Mexico is one of far too many states that believe you should have to wait to exercise your right to keep and bear arms. While I understand the value of a cooling-off period, we don't stop anyone else from exercising their rights for a time because they might use them in a way they'll later regret. Waiting periods are a denial of people's right to keep and bear arms. It's as simple as that.
And it's not just me who sees it that way, either. A three-judge panel of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals saw it just the same way in 2025 when they issued an injunction preventing the enforcement of New Mexico's waiting period.
Now, they've done it yet again.
Lawyers for New Mexico were unhappy with the outcome and filed for an en banc hearing with the 10th Circuit. An en banc hearing, if granted, vacates the panel’s decision, and the full bench would rehear the case and issue a ruling. An en banc hearing is not a right. The Court can deny the rehearing and let the panel’s decision stand. The state was confident that the Court would take the case en banc, since state en banc requests are usually granted. The 10th Circuit had other plans, though.
The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals denied the state’s request, indicating that most judges likely agreed with the panel’s decision. This denial of an en banc hearing means the state’s 7-day waiting period for firearm purchases cannot be implemented or enforced. This legal victory for Second Amendment activists will maintain the status quo of no waiting periods in New Mexico.
New Mexico can file a petition for a writ of certiorari with the United States Supreme Court, but the Court has a history of denying certiorari in interlocutory appeals. An interlocutory appeal is a challenge to a non-final court order made while a case is still ongoing. The case is more likely to return to the District Court, where arguments on the merits will be held. The outcome and likely appeal could shape the legality of waiting periods nationwide and set up a future circuit split.
If New Mexico does opt to go the route of seeking cert with the Supreme Court, then waiting periods throughout the nation will be in jeopardy, which is good news for us.
However, New Mexican officials also likely know this, and unless they're convinced their case is stronger than it seems to be, they might just elect to take this on the chin instead of putting all waiting periods on the chopping block.
The District of Columbia did that back in the day when its "may issue" permitting law was challenged. They didn't want to jeopardize other may-issue laws, so they just accepted it.
New York didn't, and now we have Bruen.
Whether New Mexico does or not, at least the people of the state aren't forced to wait for a week in order to exercise their Second Amendment rights, which is good news for countless people who may be able to protect themselves instead of waiting for the time to run out on an arbitrary clock and hoping that they survive that long.
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