Federal Judge Temporarily Blocks New Mexico Governor’s Gun Ban

A federal judge temporarily blocked Democratic New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s public health order banning the carrying of guns in public, according to Reuters.

U.S. District Judge for the District of New Mexico David Urias, a Biden appointee, found the order to be unconstitutional, Reuters reported. Grisham issued the 30-day public health order banning the right to open or conceal carry guns in Albuquerque and Bernalillo County on Friday.

“They just want the right to carry their guns,” Urias said in reference to the plaintiffs, according to Reuters.

BREAKING: New Mexico federal judge says he will issue a temporary restraining order against the governor's gun carry ban. https://t.co/CZ8ei9ZJtk

— Firearms Policy Coalition (@gunpolicy) September 13, 2023

Grisham’s order drew immediate backlash from both Republicans and Democrats and was swiftly followed by lawsuits and public protests. New Mexico’s Democratic Attorney General Raul Torrez refused to defend the order Tuesday on the grounds that it would not hold up in court.

“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 constitutional rights of every citizen takes precedence,” Torrez said. “Simply put, I do not believe that the Emergency Order will have any meaningful impact on public safety but, more importantly, I do not believe it passes constitutional muster.”

Grisham told reporters after announcing the order that no constitutional right is “absolute.” “If there’s an emergency, and I’ve declared an emergency for a temporary amount of time, I can invoke additional powers,” Grisham said. “No constitutional right, in my view, including my oath, is intended to be absolute.”

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KATELYNN RICHARDSON

Contributor

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