New Mexico’s Democrat Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham made national headlines this week as she issued a ban on the open carry of firearms in public in and around Albuquerque. The ban, which the liberal governor instituted under the guise of a public health order, constitutes the entirety of Bernalillo County, where Albuquerque resides.
The suspension instituted by the governor was for 30 days but barely lasted half a week as several gun groups immediately filed suit to overturn the order. During a motion hearing on Wednesday, a judge granted a temporary restraining order to stay in effect until October 3.
The ruling recognized that the governor’s order was in direct violation of the Second Amendment. Since it is illegal for a sitting governor to willfully violate the Constitution of the United States, Grisham has opened herself up to legal criminal action, though anything is unlikely to happen in that regard.
Senate Republican leader Greg Baca applauded the ruling, saying this: “The governor’s malfeasance and utter disregard for the Constitution is alarming. We hope this ruling and the vast backlash to this order sends a clear message to the Governor and her allies—the people have had enough, and we will not stand by idly and allow our freedoms and rights to be eroded.”
Outrage was such over the unconstitutional ruling by Grisham that local law enforcement openly declined to abide by the order. Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen said this: “It’s unconstitutional, so there’s no way we can enforce that order. This ban does nothing to curb gun violence. We must always remember not only are we protecting the Second Amendment, but at the same time, we have a lot of violence within our community. Let me be clear, I hold my standards high, and I do not or never will hedge on what is right.”
It is unclear why Grisham thinks punishing and restricting the rights of legal gun owners to open carry will address any gun violence. Considering most, if not all, gun violence is done by criminals, how does an open carry ban address crime?
Indeed, the governor’s actions amount to little more than political theater and will do nothing to stop actual criminals from committing gun crimes. Sheriff Allen recognized as much and pressured the governor not to move forward with her unconstitutional ban. He continued: “[Grisham] knew we as law enforcement did not agree with the order, and as a result, this was solely her decision.”
Grisham fired back at the governor in a statement: “I don’t need a lecture on constitutionality from Sheriff Allen: what I need is action. What we need is for leaders to stand up for the victims of violent crime. We need law enforcement, district attorneys, public officials, school leaders and state agencies to use every single tool at their disposal to stop this violence. Period.”
One of the primary tools in the liberal toolbelt is the call to action. Democrat leaders often call for “change” and “action” without actually having a plan or any idea how to implement one. In this case, Grisham had a plan but might have been better served not having one rather than blatantly ignoring the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution.
Perhaps the New Mexico Governor should focus less on political theater and hyperbole, and more on locking up criminals, putting more police on the streets, and actually keeping criminals in jail. The bet is crime would decrease, as well as gun violence, and no one’s rights would be trampled on by the New Mexico Governor.
Featured image screen grab from embedded YouTube video
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