Gun owners openly defy New Mexico governor’s firearms ban: ‘We won’t comply’.
Gun Owners Defy Ban on Carrying Firearms in New Mexico
Gun owners and activists held a protest against New Mexico’s temporary ban on carrying firearms in public in the state capital and surrounding county, insisting that they will not comply with the order.
Gun owners, “many visibly armed,” held a rally in Old Town, Albuquerque, on Sept. 10 to defy the governor’s ban on open and concealed carry of firearms, video journalist Ford Fischer shared on X.
One speaker insisted that the order “will not stand, we will not comply,” which was met with loud applause from the crowd.
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A counterprotester who was invited to take the microphone said he was concerned about violence in schools, but the speaker with the rally replied that arming veterans and well-trained teachers would be a deterrent against school shooters.
The crowd initially yelled at the counterprotester for wearing a mask and applauded when he took the mask off.
Temporary Ban on Carrying Guns
The temporary ban on carrying guns was imposed by New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Sept. 8 after issuing an emergency public health order following recent shootings that led to the deaths of several children. The ban is in effect in Albuquerque and the surrounding Bernalillo County for at least 30 days.
In a Sept. 9 post on X, Sheriff John Allen from Bernalillo County said that he is not in “complete alignment with the Governor’s recent order.”
“I have reservations regarding this order. While I understand and appreciate the urgency, the temporary ban challenges the foundation of our Constitution, which I swore an oath to uphold. 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,” he said.
Order Comes Under Criticism
The gun ban has attracted severe criticism online.
“The Governor of New Mexico now wants to arrest law-abiding gun owners simply for owning guns. Either she isn’t aware of the Constitution or has simply decided to go fascist and ignore it. Either way, we have a problem,” Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) said in a Sept. 9 post on X.
“Any ban on firearms doesn’t affect criminals. Because criminals don’t obey laws. So what the New Mexico governor is doing will prevent lawful gun owners from protecting themselves against criminal gun users. Never forget: when a Democrat talks about gun control, they really mean PEOPLE control,” she said in another post.
Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) pointed out that he had introduced an amendment a month back that sought to prevent President Joe Biden or the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) from declaring a “public health emergency” to impose gun control measures.
“Critics said that would never happen. Well, the Governor of New Mexico just did it. We need this amendment to become law,” he said in a Sept. 10 post on X.
Legal scholar Jonathan Turley called the governor’s temporary ban on guns a “flagrantly unconstitutional” act.
Lawsuits Against the Order
Multiple lawsuits have been filed against Ms. Grisham’s order. On Sept. 9, Gun Owners of America and the Gun Owners Foundation filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico.
The lawsuit (pdf) accuses defendants in the case, including Ms. Grisham and other state officials, of ordering the New Mexico state police to act as a “private army of stormtroopers” to enforce the “open and notorious subversion of constitutional rights.”
“There is no defense to Defendants’ actions—legal, moral, or otherwise. Their actions clearly and unambiguously violate the Second Amendment’
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