Morgan Lee, Associated Press
41 minutes ago
Tuesday, September 12, 2023, in Albuquerque, in response to Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s recent public health order suspending concealed and open carry of firearms in and around Albuquerque for 30 days. A demonstrator displays concealed carrying of a firearm at an Article 2 protest demonstration. New Mexico (AP Photo/Roberto E. Rosales)
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) – Restrictions on public gun possession related to emergency public health orders are moving forward under legal oversight in New Mexico Tuesday. In New Mexico, the Democratic governor is testing the limits of gubernatorial power and the Constitution. Violent crime in the state’s largest metropolitan area.
The standoff is one of many that have arisen in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to expand gun rights last year, as politically liberal-leaning state leaders seek new avenues for regulation. There is one.
A court hearing is scheduled for the morning on a legal challenge to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s public health order suspending the right to carry firearms in most public parks and playgrounds in and around Albuquerque.
Gun rights advocates en masse challenged the 30-day health order, which originally included broad restrictions on carrying guns in public.
Maddie Hayden, Lujan Grisham’s spokeswoman, announced Monday that the governor is reissuing the gun violence and drug abuse orders for another 30 days. He said urgent efforts have resulted in more arrests and curtailed shootings. The order includes instructions for monthly inspections of firearms dealers across the state, reporting on shooting victims at New Mexico hospitals, and testing wastewater for illegal substances.
U.S. District Judge David Urias ruled last month that the gun restrictions in the governor’s original order could cause irreparable harm to people who were deprived of the right to carry guns in public for self-defense. It ruled that the charges were high and granted a temporary restraining order barring him until a hearing on Tuesday.
The governor has tied the suspension of some gun rights to statistical thresholds for violent crime that apply only to Albuquerque and surrounding areas.
Urias said in a recent court filing that restrictions on gun use on playgrounds and other places where children play are “very likely constitutional.”
Under the order, state police will be temporarily authorized to assess civil penalties and fines of up to $5,000 for violations. The sheriff and Albuquerque police chief refused to enforce it.
The order galvanized gun rights advocates, including Republican lawmakers who threatened impeachment proceedings against Lujan Grisham.
Some influential Democrats and civil rights leaders have warned that the governor’s actions could do more harm than good to overall gun violence mitigation efforts, and Democratic state judiciary The commissioner is urging the governor to reconsider.
Other states, including California, Washington, Colorado and Maryland, passed gun laws this year that are facing legal challenges.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed about two dozen gun control measures last week, including doubling taxes on gun and ammunition sales and banning firearms from most public places.
Newsom acknowledged that some gun regulations may not survive court. A federal judge last month struck down a state law banning guns with removable magazines that hold more than 10 rounds.