New Mexico’s Attorney General isn’t even pretending the Governor’s recent emergency gun ban is constitutional, and has written a letter to Governor Michelle Lujam Grisham informing her that he won’t be defending it in court as it’s become subject to a barrage of lawsuits.
On Friday, Gov. Grisham signed an emergency order that banned open and concealed firearms in Albuquerque, and surrounding Bernalillo County, citing the recent killings of a 13-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy, as well as two mass shootings in May. No explanation was given as to how open carry or concealed carry laws played a role in any of those shootings. Resurrecting a trick from the COVID-era, Grisham and her state health secretary declared that “Gun violence and drug abuse currently constitute statewide public health emergencies.”
The order will take effect for 30-days (though she probably plans on further extending it), and applies on state property, including state buildings, schools, and some parks, none of which are “constitution free zones.”
While such a policy is surely popular among the state’s criminal population, it’s been met with massive backlash nationwide, with even pro-gun control advocates like David Hogg and Rep. Ted Lieu speaking out against it, though that’s likely for the purpose of optics. After all, they support much stricter and more sweeping gun control measures than the ones Girsham is enforcing.
According to the Post Millennial:
In a letter sent to New Mexico Gov. Grisham on Tuesday, state Attorney General Raul Torrez said that his office would not be defending her administration in lawsuits related to her blocking the carrying of firearms.
"I am writing to inform you that my office will not defend your administration in the above referenced cases challenging the Public Health Emergency Order Imposing Temporary Firearm Restrictions, Drug Monitoring and Other Public Safety Measures 9the Emergency Order) issued by the Secretary of Health on September 8, 2023," the letter stated.
"Though I recognize my statutory obligation as New Mexico’s chief legal officer to defend state officials when they are sued in their official capacity, my duty to uphold and defend the constitutional rights of every citizen takes precedence."
Torrez encouraged the Governor to “engage in a more thoughtful and deliberate process” with members of the Legislature instead of taking unilateral action to rob people of their constitutional rights.
BREAKING: New Mexico Attorney General tells the Governor that he won't defend her carry ban, saying "I do not believe it passes constitutional muster." pic.twitter.com/ORat27wAvn
— Firearms Policy Coalition (@gunpolicy) September 12, 2023
This follows the sheriff in New Mexico’s most populous county publicly announcing that he’d be refusing to enforce the unconstitutional gun order.
While restricting the constitutional rights of her citizens in the name of fighting gun violence, Gov. Grisham ironically has a reputation for being weak-on-crime when it comes to actual criminals.
Matt Palumbo is the author of Fact-Checking the Fact-Checkers: How the Left Hijacked and Weaponized the Fact-Checking Industry and The Man Behind the Curtain: Inside the Secret Network of George Soros
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