(The Center Square) – Backlash is mounting to an executive order New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed curtailing gun rights last week.
Her executive order banned carrying a loaded firearm in public in Bernalillo County, including Albuquerque, for 30 days. Those who violate the rule face a civil fine of $5,000, as The Center Square previously reported.
Law enforcement, elected officials and gun rights organizations have since converged to resist this gun control measure.
Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina told reporters that his department will not enforce this executive order and that state police will have to address the matter.
“Our officers at APD will continue to focus on the enforcement of criminal laws and arresting the criminals who are driving violent crime in the city,” Medina said, according to ABC News. “We have arrested over 200 murder suspects in the last two years, and field officers are making dozens of felony arrests every day. Everyone is stepping up to keep Albuquerque residents safe from the influx of guns and illegal drugs.”
Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen also does not plan on using his personnel to enforce the executive order.
“While I understand and appreciate the urgency, the temporary ban challenges the foundation of our constitution, which I swore an oath to uphold,” Allen told ABC. “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.”
Additionally, two state representatives, Stefani Lord, R-Sandia Park, and John Block, R-Alamogordo, have called for Lujan Grisham to be impeached for failing to uphold the Constitution.
“This is an abhorrent attempt to impose a radical, progressive agenda on an unwilling populous,” the two lawmakers said in a joint statement. “Rather than addressing crime at its core, Governor Grisham is restricting the rights of law-abiding gun owners.”
Plus, gun rights organizations are taking action against the governor. The National Association for Gun Rights filed a lawsuit to reverse the executive order.
“The State must justify the Carry Prohibition by demonstrating that it is consistent with the Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation,” the complaint said. “But it is impossible for the State to meet this burden because there is no such historical tradition of firearms regulation in this Nation.”
