Gov. Grisham knowingly violated the rights of our citizens in New Mexico by "prohibiting people from carrying firearms" and is willing to use the State Police to enforce the mandate under the guise of a "Public Health Order." Mandates are not laws and there was no legislative process for this unconstitutional demand. We believe the use of the Public Health Order is an abuse of power and will have no effect on crime in Albuquerque or the greater Bernalillo County area. In fact, we urge the Governor to adopt a tough stance on real criminals, not law-abiding citizens.

The Governor is setting the stage for future constitutional infringements by hiding behind Public Health Orders or Emergencies. The fact that she public acknowledged this anti-gun order was unconstitutional but enacted the ban is troubling. 

1) Governor, we demand you remove from the public health order the unconstitutional violation of our rights in regard to the Second Amendment.

2) Governor, we demand you enforce current laws and take a stronger stance against violent criminals. Do not allow the Mayor of Albuquerque to release violent criminals back on the streets without bail. Further, provide additional resources to local and state law enforcement so they may investigate pursue, and arrest violent criminals instead of attacking law-abiding citizens and removing their right to self-protection.

3) Governor, protect gun carry laws in our state immediately and do not infringe on law-abiding citizens' rights to carry. In fact, if you want to acknowledge that our citizens are in danger in public spaces then close the border, prevent the Cartels from operating in the state, pursue anti-gang legislation, and vehemently investigate crime.

Below is an excerpt from the Santa Fe New Mexican for more information:

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Friday announced a new public health order that, she said, will prohibit people from carrying firearms, either open or concealed, in Albuquerque and throughout Bernalillo County for the next 30 days, regardless of whether they have a permit. 

The order takes effect immediately. It states “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.”

Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, issued an executive order Thursday evening declaring gun violence a public health emergency. During a news conference Friday, she said she expects legal challenges to the new public health order and expressed uncertainty about whether the order would prevail in court.

The order currently applies only to the city of Albuquerque and Bernalillo County, Lujan Grisham said, and can only be enforced not by local authorities but by New Mexico State Police, whose presence in the state’s largest city would be “significant” over the next month.

Violating the order would likely be a misdemeanor, Lujan Grisham said, and it will not apply to private property or at a licensed gun dealer or shooting range. While traveling, the order states, firearms must be locked in a container or with a trigger lock.

By Nicholas Gilmore ngilmore@sfnewmexican.com