2023 New Mexico Statutes › Chapter 40 - Domestic Affairs › Article 17 - Extreme Risk Firearm Protection Order › Section 40-17-5 - Petition for extreme risk firearm protection order; contents.

A. A petition for an extreme risk firearm protection order shall be filed only by a law enforcement officer employed by a law enforcement agency; provided that, if the respondent is a law enforcement officer, the petition shall be filed by the district attorney or the attorney general.
B. A petitioner may file a petition with the court requesting an extreme risk firearm protection order that shall enjoin the respondent from having in the respondent's possession, custody or control any firearm and shall further enjoin the respondent from purchasing, receiving or attempting to purchase, possess or receive any firearm while the order is in effect.
C. If a law enforcement officer declines to file a requested petition for an extreme risk firearm protection order, the law enforcement officer shall file with the sheriff of the county in which the respondent resides a notice that the law enforcement officer is declining to file a petition pursuant to this section.
D. A law enforcement officer shall file a petition for an extreme risk firearm protection order upon receipt of credible information from a reporting party that gives the agency or officer probable cause to believe that a respondent poses a significant danger of causing imminent personal injury to self or others by having in the respondent's custody or control or by purchasing, possessing or receiving a firearm.
E. A petition for an extreme risk firearm protection order shall state the specific statements, actions or facts that support the belief that the respondent poses a significant danger of causing imminent personal injury to self or others by having in the respondent's custody or control or by purchasing, possessing or receiving a firearm.
F. A petition for an extreme risk firearm protection order shall be made under oath and shall be accompanied by a sworn affidavit signed by the reporting party setting forth specific facts supporting the order.
G. A petition for an extreme risk firearm protection order shall include:
(1) the name and address of the reporting party;
(2) the name and address of the respondent;
(3) a description of the number, types and locations of firearms or ammunition that the petitioner believes the respondent has custody of, controls, owns or possesses;
(4) a description of the relationship between the reporting party and the respondent; and
(5) a description of any lawsuit, complaint, petition, restraining order, injunction or other legal action between the reporting party and the respondent.
History:
Laws 2020, ch. 5, § 5.
ANNOTATIONS
Effective dates.
— Laws 2020, ch. 5 contained no effective date provision, but, pursuant to N.M. Const., art. IV, § 23, was effective May 20, 2020, 90 days after adjournment of the legislature.
"Reporting party" construed.
— The plain language of the Extreme Risk Firearm Protection Order Act (act), 40-17-1 to 41-17-13 NMSA 1978, shows that a "reporting party" as used in this section, is a person who requests that a law enforcement officer file a petition for an extreme risk firearm protection order, and the term "reporting party" includes, but is not limited to, those types of individuals specified in 40-17-3(D) NMSA 1978. The use of the word "includes" in the definition of "reporting party" to connect a general clause to a list of enumerated examples demonstrates a legislative intent to provide an incomplete list of examples. Moreover, an expansive interpretation of the term "reporting party" is consistent with the broad purpose of the act, which is to protect the public from those individuals who, through their potential operation of a firearm, pose an extreme risk to public health.
Extreme Risk Firearm Protection Order Act
(8/20/21), Att'y Gen. Adv. Ltr. 2021-08.