Gun Shop Owners Say Business is Slowing After New Mexico Carry Ban: ‘People are Confused’

Gun shop owners in Albuquerque, New Mexico have been met with slow business and a flurry of questions after a new public health order that temporarily prohibits open and concealed carry in most public places took hold last week.

“People are confused, and so, they’re not really knowing what they can and cannot do,” Ryan Burt, CEO of Calibers Shooting Center, told KRQE on Monday, three days after Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham issued the 30-day ban.

Grisham has said she was compelled to act following a slate of shootings that have left several children dead, including an 11-year-old boy who was shot and killed outside a minor league baseball stadium last week.

The temporary rules apply to Bernalillo County – which encompasses Albuquerque – and its areas that average "1,000 or more violent crimes per 100,000 residents per year since 2021." The measure does not apply to police officers and security guards.

Under the order, violators could face civil penalties and a fine of up to $5,000. Gun owners may still transport firearms to certain private locations, including a gun range or a gun store, as long as the weapon has a trigger lock or other mechanism or container so it is unable to discharge.

But that hasn't stopped the city's gun retailers from taking a hit this past weekend, as store owners say they've fielded many questions from a confused public, but made little sales.

"Business is slow. Why? Because there’s confusion out there as to whether or not people can bring their firearms in," Burt told KRQE.

Mark Abramson, who owns Los Ranchos Gun Shop, told the Albuquerque Journal he has received many calls and store visits from people with questions.

“People are coming in and asking a lot of questions about what is the impact — what they can do and can’t do,” Abramson told the newspaper. “People are very concerned because they don’t know and it has made national news.”

Abramson said he has received questions specially about rules on how to transport guns by car.

“It’s sort of uncharted waters,” he said. “We have always told people that your car is an extension of your home and I don’t think (Lujan Grisham) can change what your home is.”

At Calibers Shooting Center, employees of the store and gun range saw an unusually slow weekend, leaving Burt concerned about the impact the ban could have on the more than 50 people he employs and their families, according to KRQE.

Burt is also worried about what will happen if people don't feel they can lawfully go to gun ranges to learn how to safely handle firearms.

"If we can't educate, then we got a bigger problem," Burt told the news station. "Then we got a whole bunch of people with guns that aren't educated. That's a bigger problem than anything else."

The impact on gun retailers is the latest fallout from the temporary order.

On Monday, Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen said he will not enforce the measure, saying the rules "will not do anything to curb gun violence other than punish law-abiding citizens from their constitutional right of self-defense."

The National Association for Gun Rights and resident Foster Haines have also filed a lawsuit against state officials, and on Saturday, two Republican state representatives called for Grisham to be impeached.

–With the Associated Press