According to Firearm Chronicles
The sheriff of Santa Fe County, New Mexico says that despite his concerns about the state’s new “red flag” law, he plans on enforcing any Extreme Risk Protection Orders filed in his county when the law goes into effect in May.
Sheriff Adan Mendoza tells the Santa Fe New Mexican that he can’t pick and choose which laws to enforce, but that he also has several big issues with the red flag law signed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.
He also has concerns about the length of time a person has to wait between having their weapons seized and seeing a judge.
One question that the New Mexican failed to ask Sheriff Mendoza is if he supports planned litigation by several sheriffs to sue the state over the red flag law. Cibola County Sheriff Tony Mace tells Bearing Arms that he and other sheriffs have been meeting with attorneys in preparation of filing the legal challenge to the new law, but it’s unclear whether Mendoza will sign on or be a party to the litigation.
Meanwhile, the law’s original sponsor in the legislature is still trying to justify the lack of due process protections.
If someone is an imminent threat to themselves, then simply taking their guns away doesn’t chance the fact that they could take their life by another means. In fact, we’ve seen that in states like Connecticut and Indiana, where red flag laws haven’t reduced their suicide rate despite having red flag laws on the books for years.