BELLEVUE, Wash. — Oct. 23, 2026 — The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and its partners have filed a motion for preliminary injunction in NSSF v. Torrez, SAF’s challenge to New Mexico’s “cooling off” waiting period for firearms purchases.
The case marks the second challenge to the law which originated as House Bill 129 that forces firearms purchasers to wait out a multi-day “cooling off” period before taking possession of a firearm despite having already been approved through the state’s background check system. The constitutionality of HB129 has been challenged once already in Ortega v. Grisham where the Tenth Circuit held the law was unconstitutional and remanded to the district court, which subsequently issued a permanent injunction preventing its enforcement against the Plaintiffs. Despite the court ruling HB129 was unconstitutional, New Mexico has continued enforcing the law against everyone except the named individuals in the Ortega case. This new lawsuit seeks to expand that coverage to include as many New Mexico residents as possible, including all SAF members.
“A motion for preliminary injunction is a way of asking the court for emergency relief,” said SAF Senior Director of Legal Operations Bill Sack. “And when citizens are being forced to adhere to a law that violates their fundamental rights, that is the very definition of an emergency. The state has announced both publicly and privately that anyone refusing to comply with the waiting period law will face charges. It’s for these reasons we seek to once again strike down this infringement and not further delay the Second Amendment rights of New Mexico residents.”
As noted in the motion, “Because New Mexico has made clear that it will not abide the Tenth Circuit’s unequivocal holding as to anyone other than the Ortega plaintiffs unless and until a court orders it to do so, Plaintiffs are forced to seek an order that (once again) declares HB129 unconstitutional in the context of firearms sales to individuals who pass the background check required under federal law…”
SAF is joined in NSSF v. Torrez by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, National Rifle Association, New Mexico Firearms Industry Association, New Mexico Shooting Sports Association, Calibers Shooting Sports Center, Omni Tactical USA, Right to Bear Arms and private citizen Peter Hackett.
“It takes a special kind of arrogance to ignore a court order and continue enforcing a law that has been ruled to be unconstitutional, yet here we are,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “The state is doing nothing more than wasting taxpayer dollars in an attempt to defend a law that has already been successfully challenged on Second Amendment grounds. A court has ruled HB129 violates the rights of citizens in the state, and we fully expect to be successful in our challenge as well.”
For more information visit SAF.org.
The Second Amendment Foundation (saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group dedicated to safeguarding and promoting the fundamental rights of individuals enshrined in the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution. SAF engages in aggressive legal action to ensure the principles of armed self-defense, personal liberty, and the ownership of arms are defended, secured, and restored. Through public education initiatives, SAF teaches the importance of the Second Amendment to promote a society that values and exercises the right to keep and bear arms.
Media Contact:
Matt Coffey