Efforts by New Mexico to contain violent crime took center stage Saturday at the end of a legislative session hours after three people were killed and 15 injured in gunfire at a public park in Las Cruces. The events transformed a celebratory day for legislators at the close of a 60-day session into a somber affair, the Associated Press reports. “This tragedy reminds us that it’s going to take all of us to continue to come together to address these senseless acts of violence,” said Democratic House Speaker Javier Martinez.
Republicans legislators in the minority said the state is in crisis and urged Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to exercise her authority to bring legislators back to seek solutions to violent crime. “I cannot ignore that we failed to adequately address the public safety crisis in our state,” Lujan Grisham said.
Legislators have delivered an array of crime-related bills to the governor to enhance criminal penalties, expand state authority to prosecute organized crime and provide new precautions when defendants are deemed mentally incompetent to stand trial. A bill won legislative approval on a 38-0 Senate vote that would expand the state’s racketeering law to address activity ranging from human trafficking to smuggling. Beyond New Mexico, a tough-on-crime approach is back in favor with Republicans and Democrats alike promoting new law enforcement initiatives in state capitols. Nationwide, nearly 8 in 10 voters said they were “very” or “somewhat” concerned about crime in their communities, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of more than 120,000 voters during the fall election. The percentage saying they were very concerned was higher than the national rate in New Mexico and some other states, including Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and California.
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