Greg Griego often told people he was an ex-con or had a felony in his past, possibly in California.

If that’s true, he would have been allowed to own guns if 10 years had passed since his sentence and probation had ended. Otherwise, state and federal law would have prohibited him from possessing or owning the guns used in the killings — an AR-15 assault-type rifle and a .22 caliber rifle.

He still may have been able to purchase a gun in New Mexico, one of 36 states that doesn't require background checks for people buying firearms at gun shows or from private sellers.

Speaker of the House W. Ken Martinez (D-Grants) was asked directly if he would favor an assault weapons ban but he hedged.

“Everything’s on the table,” Speaker Martinez said before saying, “I’d have to look at the language that’s introduced.”

The sadness of loss and the depth of despair is an interesting journey. Today I found out that one of our progressive leaders Eric Griego had the ultimate tragedy hit his family. Sudden violent ends to his brother and his sister in law and nephews and nieces. Gone. Gone from the planet as we know them. My heart is broken. My heart is broken for the loss and pain for my brother Eric and his family. It comes to me in this moment of loss in our small community here in NM how much I love Eric and so many others. How this day will be a changing epic day for the rest of Eric’s life and all that love Eric and his family's life. Eric is a fighter for the underdog. He does not spend time dwelling in the world of the haves. If only his nephew had reached out to all the programs Eric has supported and kept alive. But no this young man could reach out to one thing that was handy in those hours and minutes, a gun. There is a fearlessness when we lose someone this close. A desire to hold on to life and work extra hard, or to let go of life. A fearless Eric Griego is exactly what this planet and NM and us livers needs right now. It is a painful tragic way to get there but it is what we need. We must not be succumbed with the mundane of life we must be fully engaged in the world of the living. We are our brothers keepers. I love you Eric and I love what you fight for. Healing fearless loving energy coming your way.

We sat around yesterday and wondered why the Albuquerque Journal, who covered the tragedy well, and the rest of the media has never brought the Governor in for an interview on gun violence. Or the Mayor. I saw the Governor on TV last night pressing for more tough laws on sexual predators, but once again no one asked her about gun control. Why does she get a 'bye'? Every time she doesn't want to make comments her staff says she is unavailable. She is a coward on the tough stuff.

Asked about Senate Bill 136, introduced Monday, Sen. Joe Cervantes, a Democrat, said, “Last year, there was a case of a political operative using Public Education Department employees to create a list of emails for him. This bill would explicitly prohibit what most of us think is unethical, when [public employees] are on state time.”

He was referring to Jay McCleskey, Gov. Susana Martinez’s consultant, who requested the list from Public Education Department spokesman Larry Behrens. In a May 2, 2012, email sent to McCleskey, Martinez and a list of officials in her administration — all on private rather than public emails — Behrens detailed how he compiled the list.

Members of the Senate Committees' Committee (how bureaucratic can a name be?) were discussing the mundane business of postage, letterhead and business cards for senators.

Ingle said he did not need any. A clerk asked him if he was a member of any new committees, thereby necessitating a change in his letterhead and cards.

"I've got the same old horsesh--," said Ingle, the Senate minority leader.

McIlmoil says solar power plants are nearing a point at which they would be competitive with building a similar-sized coal-fired plant. In New Mexico and West Texas, El Paso Electric (EPE) and Element Power signed an agreement late last year to provide electricity from the Macho Springs Solar Project near Deming to El Paso Electric customers at a competitive rate.

Clovis Police Chief Steve Sanders says it doesn't matter whether he personally supports a proposed federal assault weapons ban.

"I don't really have a stance," Sanders said. "We will uphold whatever laws that are actually enacted. We don't have a whole lot to do with it. It's up to the federal government to take care of it."

Roosevelt County Sheriff Darren Hooker says he swore an oath to the U.S. Constitution, not the federal government. So if a federal ban on assault rifles was to become law, he's made it clear it wouldn't be enforced in his county.

"The sheriffs don't enforce federal law, and therefore I wouldn't have to worry about it," Hooker said. "It's a federal law and I don't have to."