The Defamation of New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence

A legal loophole that allows ghost guns was clumsily weaponized against a lawful gun buyback program.

Xylophone made from unwanted firearms (via Guns to Gardens)

---

By: Devin Hughes

Some of our readers may have heard about a recent series of challenges facing the organization New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence. We’ve conversed with the organization and are using today’s post to clarify what is happening in New Mexico and bring some awareness to the situation.

New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence (NMPGV) is a small non-profit founded in 2013 that partners with schools, cities, police departments, and other organizations across the state to provide education about gun violence prevention. In 2016, NMPGV created its Guns to Gardens program to provide a service to gun owners who no longer wanted their firearms. 

During its more than seven years of operation, Guns to Gardens has held 18 buybacks and successfully destroyed more than 2,000 firearms, nearly 40% of which were semi-automatics or assault weapons, according to NMPGV.

The process by which gun owners can give unwanted guns to the police is time-consuming and difficult. Hence the program provides a valuable service to the community and had received very little pushback until recently. 

NMPGV planned to hold its 19th buyback program with the city of Farmington on December 8, 2023. However, the city suspended the event stating that the program had “not received enough advance education and community collaboration prior to scheduling.” 

In lieu of the event, NMPGV worked directly with gun owners who wanted their weapons destroyed by cutting them, ensuring the receiver was dismantled, and “obliterating” the firing pin. After the gun was destroyed and un-operational, NMPGV gave the owner a gift card for the parts which were later turned into gardening tools or art projects.

At no point during this process was a firearm purchased; therefore, a background check was not required under New Mexico’s universal background check law.

San Juan County Sheriff Shane Ferrari, however, announced that he was investigating whether NMPGV had broken the law by not conducting background checks because, he argued, the destroyed guns still counted as guns based on ATF regulations.

The cited ATF regulations are guidelines, not law. Interestingly, the legal loophole that allows the sale of readily assembled firearm kits (known as “ghost guns”) was, in this case, ignored and weaponized against NMPGV’s destroyed firearm parts.

Sheriff Ferrari, as well as Republican Representatives Stefani Lord and John Block, called for criminal charges to be filed, asked the ATF to investigate, and for the IRS to revoke NMPGV’s 501(c)3 status, and additionally used the situation to try to block new gun legislation. 

The firestorm was not limited to just New Mexico, however. Numerous pro-gun outlets and organizations, such as the NRA, picked up the story.

In particular, the Crime Prevention Research Center’s (CPRC) Educational Director, Kerry Slone, published an error-filled column about the event. On the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter), the CRPC went a step further and accused NMPGV of not only breaking the law but also giving “functional weapons to minors” — a statement that crosses the line from being merely false to defamation.

Suffice it to say, no functional firearms were ever given to minors, and such an allegation seeks to undermine NMPGV’s close work with schools.  

A month after the firestorm crested, the ATF declined to launch an investigation due to lack of any evidence of wrongdoing, and the New Mexico Attorney General released multiple letters finding no evidence of wrongdoing by NMPGV.

To learn more about the Guns to Gardens program, visit NMPGV’s website here.

---

---

Devin Hughes is the President and Founder of GVPedia, a non-profit that provides access to gun violence prevention research and data.