SANTA FE, N.M. – A bill is heading to the governor’s desk to impose a seven-day waiting period for all gun sales in New Mexico.

State lawmakers just voted to pass that proposal after hours of debate Monday night. 

The legislation that passed Monday is quite different from when it was introduced. 

The vote was 36-32, with most Republicans voting against it. This is the second time the House had to debate the bill because of changes the Senate made earlier this session. 

Most of those changes involve who would get exemptions in this seven-day waiting period. 

Those who are exempt from the waiting period include people who hold a federal firearm license, those who have a concealed carry license, or if two law enforcement officers sell a gun to one another, and if two family members sold a gun to each other.

Some representatives argue there should have been more exemptions.

“But the biggest thing for me on top of everything else Mr. Speaker and gentle lady was the fact that they didn’t allow the exemption for survivors of domestic violence. I think if you come in and have a restraining order, you are scared for your life, you are not living with this person, you are afraid they are going to kill you, you don’t have the opportunity to bypass that,” said state Rep. Stefani Lord. 

Some other changes made by the Senate include if the required federal background check isn’t completed within 20 days, the seller may transfer the firearm to the buyer. 

Initially, if a potential buyer didn’t pass a background check within the waiting period, he or she would have to pay for another one to be done. Also, firearm mufflers and silencers would be exempt from the waiting period. 

This bill was one of the many gun proposals the governor called for at the beginning of the session.

There are four other gun bills waiting for a vote on the House floor. Those include the Firearm Accountability Act, updating the red flag law, a ban on semi-automatic firearms, and raising the age for purchasing a gun to 21.

All of those are House bills, so they are sitting at the halfway point with just three days left in the session.