Santa Fe, NM-Representative Eliseo Alcon(D-Cibola & McKinley-6), received praise from an unusual source for a Democrat, the National Rifle Association. The NRA sent out an alert encouraging their members to thank Rep. Alcon for his vote to table House Bill 402, the "Assault Weapons and Large Magazine Ban," introduced in the house this session. After hours of feedback in the committee hearings from advocates on both sides of the issue, late in the evening the committee voted to table the bill 3-2.

Rep. Alcon said, "This is an issue the federal government needs to address right away. While so many questions remained to be resolved at the federal level, it is difficult to properly address this issue here in New Mexico. After hearing from so many citizens during committee, asking the legislature to slow down, I could not vote to move HB 402 out of committee. If Washington gridlock continues to deny the American public a resolution to these issues, I remain committed to working with all sides of the issue to figure out how we can balance public safety with the rights to bear arms afforded by the constitution."