On Monday, Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen held a press conference wherein he said his office would not enforce Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s public health order banning guns in Albuquerque and Bernalillo County for 30 days as a response to a recent rash of gun violence there.
Allen called the order unconstitutional.
Monday evening, Lujan Grisham issued her rebuttal to Allen’s statements at the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s press conference.
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“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,” Lujan Grisham said. “This is an administration that has treated the gun violence epidemic as the crisis that it is. We’ve passed common-sense gun legislation, including red flag laws, domestic violence protections, a ban on straw purchases, and safe storage laws; dedicated hundreds of millions of dollars to a fund specifically to help law enforcement hire and retain officers; increased penalties for violent offenders and provided massive support to intervention programs.”
Lujan Grisham concluded her statement by urging Allen to enforce the order.
“We’ve given you the tools, Sheriff Allen — now stop being squeamish about using them. I will not back down from doing what’s right and I will always put the safety of the people of New Mexico first,” Lujan Grisham said.
