Nation
Posted by Charlie Kirk Staff - 9.09.23

Second Amendment Advocates Blast New Mexico Governor For Gun Carry Ban

Second Amendment Advocates Blast New Mexico Governor For Gun Carry Ban

Nation
Posted by Charlie Kirk Staff - 9.09.23

Gun owners and advocates for the Second Amendment are blasting Democratic New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham after she issued an executive order temporarily banning concealed and open carry of firearms in a portion of the state.

She justified the emergency order as an effort to curb shootings after several recent incidents have left a number of people dead, including children.

“The recent shooting deaths of a thirteen-year-old girl on July 28, a five-year-old girl on August 14, and an eleven-year-old boy on September 6, as well as two mass shootings this year spurred the governor to declare gun violence a public health emergency on Thursday,” according to a press release from her office.

“As I said yesterday, the time for standard measures has passed,” she said in a statement. “And when New Mexicans are afraid to be in crowds, to take their kids to school, to leave a baseball game – when their very right to exist is threatened by the prospect of violence at every turn – something is very wrong.”

The suspension applies to the city of Albuquerque and the surrounding Bernalillo County for at least 30 days. Also, the suspension can only be enforced by the New Mexico State Police, not local police officers.

“The governor made it clear that state law enforcement, and not APD [Albuquerque Police Department], will be responsible for enforcement of civil violations of the order,” Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina said Friday.

“Our officers at APD will continue to focus on the enforcement of criminal laws and arresting the criminals who are driving violent crime in the city,” he noted further.

The governor’s order says “no person, other than a law enforcement officer or licensed security officer, shall possess a firearm … either openly or concealed, within cities or counties averaging 1,000 or more violent crimes per 100,000 residents per year since 2021,” according to The Santa Fe New Mexican.

Violations of the order are a misdemeanor. Also, the order does not apply to private residences, gun stores, or shooting ranges.

Lujan Grisham admitted on Friday she wasn’t sure her order would survive court challenges, but she expects them.

“I have to take a tough, direct stand, or basically, I’m ignoring the fact that we lost an 11-year-old,” she said, claiming that her order was issued under the guise of a public health emergency.

State Sen. Greg Baca, the state Senate’s top-ranked Republican, is leading the opposition to the order.

“A child is murdered, the perpetrator is still on the loose, and what does the governor do? She throws the mayor of Albuquerque under the bus and then targets law-abiding citizens with an unconstitutional gun order,” he said in a statement.

“Tragically, this is what we have come to expect from an administration that refuses to take responsibility for the crime epidemic gripping our state. It is time for the governor to stop pointing fingers and admit that her soft-on-crime approach has failed and put the safety of all New Mexicans in great jeopardy,” he added.

“You should be jailed over this. You do not have the right to unilaterally cancel a constitutional right. Go to Cuba if you want to behave like a communist,” conservative activist Robby Starbuck tweeted.

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