New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has issued an order suspending the open and concealed carry laws that were implemented in Bernalillo County and the city of Albuquerque for 30 days.
Lujan Grisham said that she issued the emergency health order in response to the recent shootings across the country.
“Today, I signed an executive order declaring gun violence a public health emergency. To my fellow citizens: get loud. Step up. Demand change: from your neighbors, from your friends, from your communities, from your elected leaders. Enough is enough,” she wrote on the social media platform X.
However, the order was met with pushback from pro-gun activists and even from local officials, who vowed not to enforce it.
“As an officer of the court, I cannot and will not enforce something that is clearly unconstitutional. This office will continue to focus on criminals of any age that use guns in the commission of a crime,” Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman said in a joint statement with Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller and Police Chief Harold Medina.
Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen also expressed his quesiness over prohibiting citizens from exercising their Second Amendment rights.
“I am wary of placing my deputies in positions that could lead to civil liability conflicts as well as the potential risks posed by prohibiting law-abiding citizens from their constitutional right to self-defense,” Allen said.
On Sunday, dozens of gun rights activists gathered in Old Town Albuquerque to protest Lujan Grisham’s order. Protesters proudly displayed American, Gadsden, and “Come and Take It” flags. One man in the crowd was holding a sign addressed to Grisham that read: “Our founding fathers warned us about you,” while a woman was spotted holding a sign that stated: “Gun rights are women’s rights.”
The first lawsuit aiming to block the order was filed recently by the National Association for Gun Rights and Foster Haines, a member who lives in Albuquerque in the U.S. District Court.
“The State must justify the Carry Prohibition by demonstrating that it is consistent with the Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation. But it is impossible for the State to meet this burden, because there is no such historical tradition of firearms regulation in this Nation,” the lawsuit read.
