New Mexico governor updates gun restrictions in ‘public health emergency’
New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham Friday modified a controversial 30-day gun ban she instituted for “public health” to now only restrict guns at parks and playgrounds.
Lujan Grisham declared gun violence a public health emergency on September 7th after an 11-year-old boy was shot to death. In her executive order, Lujan Grisham claimed the rising number of gunshot victims strains the state’s “already over-burdened healthcare system and places undue pressure on medical professionals and resources.”
The ban was met with intense backlash. US District Judge David Urias blocked the gun ban less than a week after it was ordered in response to legal challenges by gun rights advocates. The temporary restraining order is effective until October 3rd, when the court will hear arguments for and against the ban.
But rather than rescind the ban, Lujan Grisham has signaled she is unwilling to give up totally on banning guns or to relax the “public health emergency.” The public health order has been “updated” to restrict firearms at parks and playgrounds in Albuquerque and Bernalillo County.
“I’m going to continue pushing to make sure that all of us are using every resource available to put an end to this public health emergency with the urgency it deserves,” said Lujan Grisham in a statement. “I will not accept the status quo – enough is enough.”
The “public health emergency of unknown duration” remains in effect. New Mexico’s Public Health Emergency Response Act extends “special powers” to the governor and allows for the isolation and quarantining of taxpayers.
While she admitted her order stood on shaky legal footing, Lujan Grisham claimed that no constitutional right is absolute, and neither is her oath to uphold the Constitution.
After Lujan Grisham issued the order, New Mexicans openly defied it by carrying their firearms. Michigan-based ammunition manufacturer FeniX Ammunition responded to the ban by offering New Mexican customers free shipping with the promo code “F*ck Off, Gov. Grisham.”
Law enforcement authorities refused to enforce the “public health order” saying it violates the Second Amendment. Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina vowed not to implement the ban, and Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen also promised not to enforce the order calling it “unconstitutional.”
New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez, a Democrat like Lujan Grisham, also refused to defend the order in court stating it violates the Constitution.
