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.
Today, gun owners – many visibly armed – rallied in old Town Albuquerque to openly defy the New Mexico Governor’s Executive Order banning the open and concealed carry of firearms there as a one-month “emergency.”
Police did not intervene or enforce the order. No violence occurred. One speaker told the crowd that they need to go out and do this every day, or else it wouldn’t have an impact.
While the police didn’t enforce the order, it includes a $5000 fine for violators. One apparent anti-gun protester was yelled at, but then invited by the speaker to say his piece on the stage. The crowd yelled at him for wearing a mask and applauded him when he took it off. He expressed concern about gun violence in schools, which the speaker and crowd retorted by suggesting that arming veterans and well-trained teachers at schools would be a deterrent against active shooters.
