ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A coalition of national and New Mexico gun rights organizations has filed a federal lawsuit seeking to stop the state from enforcing its seven-day waiting period for firearm purchases against buyers who have already cleared a federal background check.
The lawsuit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico, argues the state is continuing to enforce a law that has already been successfully challenged in a separate case. The new lawsuit could determine whether most New Mexico gun owners remain subject to the waiting period despite earlier federal court rulings against the law.
Plaintiffs include the National Shooting Sports Foundation, National Rifle Association, Second Amendment Foundation, New Mexico Firearms Industry Association, New Mexico Shooting Sports Association, several firearms businesses and NRA member Peter Hackett. Attorney General Raúl Torrez is the sole defendant.
New Mexico enacted the waiting-period law in 2024 under House Bill 129. The law generally requires buyers to wait seven days before taking possession of a firearm, even when the required federal background check is completed sooner. Violating the law can result in a misdemeanor charge.
The law includes exemptions for certain purchasers and transfers, including concealed-carry permit holders, law enforcement officers and transfers between immediate family members.
The latest lawsuit follows Ortega v. Grisham, a challenge brought by New Mexico residents Samuel Ortega and Rebecca Scott after the law took effect in May 2024.
In August 2025, a divided panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals concluded the waiting period likely violated the Second Amendment and ordered the lower court to issue an injunction. The appeals court found that delaying a person from acquiring a firearm after completing the required background check burdened conduct protected by the Second Amendment.
On remand, U.S. District Judge James Browning entered final judgment in August 2026 and barred the state from enforcing the waiting period against Ortega and Scott. The injunction, however, applied only to the two plaintiffs rather than firearm purchasers statewide. The state has appealed that ruling.
That limited scope is now at the center of the new lawsuit.
Bill Sack, senior director of legal operations for the Second Amendment Foundation, said other New Mexico gun buyers remain subject to the law despite the earlier court decisions.
“The Second Amendment is a fundamental right that is afforded to all citizens in this country,” Sack said.
The lawsuit asks the court to declare the waiting period unconstitutional as applied to law-abiding purchasers whose federal background checks clear within three days and to prohibit enforcement against the plaintiff organizations, their members and customers.
Supporters of the law have argued waiting periods can reduce impulsive shootings and suicides while allowing additional time for background checks. A New Mexico Department of Health analysis prepared during debate over HB 129 cited research indicating waiting periods may reduce some firearm suicides and homicides.
Gun rights advocates argue the law unnecessarily delays lawful buyers, including people seeking firearms for self-defense, after they have already satisfied federal screening requirements.
Lujan Grisham’s office said this week it had not yet been served with the new lawsuit and needed time to evaluate it before commenting.
On Friday, the plaintiffs also asked the federal court for a preliminary injunction that would block enforcement of the seven-day waiting period while the new lawsuit proceeds.
