https://apnews.com/article/albuquerque-guns-governor-concealed-carry-fc5b4b79bf411b8022c3ad58975724d7
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Friday issued an emergency order suspending the right to carry firearms in public across Albuquerque and the surrounding county for at least 30 days in response to a spate of gun violence.
The Democratic governor said she expects legal challenges but was compelled to act because of recent shootings, including the death of an 11-year-old boy outside a minor league baseball stadium this week.
Lujan Grisham said state police would be responsible for enforcing what amount to civil violations. Albuquerque police Chief Harold Medina said he won’t enforce it, and Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen said he’s uneasy about it because it raises too many questions about constitutional rights.
The firearms suspension, classified as an emergency public health order, applies to open and concealed carry in most public places, from city sidewalks to urban recreational parks. The restriction is tied to a threshold for violent crime rates currently only met by the metropolitan Albuquerque. Police and licensed security guards are exempt from the temporary ban.
TRANSCRIPT:
REPORTER 1: You took an oath to the Constitution. Isn't it unconstitutional to say you cannot exercise your carry license? Gov. Lujan Grisham: With one exception. And that is, if there's an emergency and I've declared an emergency for a temporary amount of time, I can invoke additional powers. No constitutional right, in my view, including my oath, is intended to be absolute. There are restrictions on free speech. There are restrictions on my freedoms. In this emergency, this eleven-year-old and all these parents who have lost all these children, they deserve my attention to have the debate about whether or not, in an emergency, we can create a safer environment. Because what about their constitutional rights? I took an oath to uphold those too. And if we ignore this growing problem without being bold, I've said to every other New Mexican, your rights are subrogated to theirs. And they are not, in my view. REPORTER 1: Wait a minute, you're talking about the crimes, there are already laws against the crimes. So how are their rights subrogated? Gov. Lujan Grisham: But again, if I'm unsafe, who's standing up for that right? If this climate is so out of control, somebody should do something. I'm doing as much as I know to do. REPORTER 2: Madam governor, do you really think that criminals are going to hear this message and not carry a gun in Albuquerque on the streets for thirty days? Gov. Lujan Grisham: Uh, no.
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