New Lawsuit Targets New Mexico’s Waiting Period for All Gun Buyers

A new federal lawsuit filed October 19 wants New Mexico's seven-day firearm waiting period blocked for a much wider group of buyers than the one earlier court case already covers, and it names the state's attorney general directly.

Key points

• Who's suing: NSSF v. Torrez brings together the National Shooting Sports Foundation, NRA, Second Amendment Foundation, three Albuquerque gun stores (Calibers Shooting Sports Center, Omni Tactical USA, Right to Bear Arms), two state associations, and prospective buyer Peter Hackett.
• The gap they're targeting: Concealed Nation reports the state has treated an earlier win in Ortega v. Grisham as protecting only those two individual plaintiffs, leaving the waiting period in force for everyone else.
• What they want: A declaration that the extra delay after a buyer clears a background check violates the Second Amendment, plus an injunction covering their customers and members, not just named plaintiffs.
• Background on Ortega: The Tenth Circuit reversed denial of relief in August 2025 and told the district court to sort out how broad the injunction should be; judgment came down in August 2026, and the state has appealed.
• Not a background-check fight: The law's seven-day clock includes the background check itself; this suit challenges the extra hold after a buyer passes, per the article.

Quick take

This is less about whether waiting periods survive constitutional scrutiny and more about who actually gets to benefit once a court says they don't. If the state can keep enforcing a law against everyone but the two people who sued, that's a loophole worth watching in any state with similar statutes.

Read the full story: concealednation.org