Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham vowed to continue fighting gun violence following a federal judge blocking a part of an executive order on Wednesday that prohibited carrying of firearms in Bernalillo County for 30 days.
The federal judge issued a temporary restraining order that lasts 14 days.
“Today a judge temporarily blocked sections of our public health order but recognized the significant problem of gun violence in this state,” Lujan Grisham posted to her social media accounts Wednesday evening. “I refuse to be resigned to the status quo, and I will never stop fighting to prevent other families from enduring these tragedies,”
The post included a screenshot of her full statement.
“Over the past four days, I’ve seen more attention on resolving the crisis of gun violence that I have in the past four years,” Lujan Grisham said in the post. “Now is the time to bring clarity of purpose: New Mexicans must again feel safe walking home from school, driving to the grocery store or leaving their hometown baseball stadium.”
Groups who sued the governor praised the judge granting the TRO.
“The governor’s malfeasance and utter disregard for the Constitution is alarming. By her own admission, she believes there are virtually no limits to the exercise of executive power,” Senate Minority Leader Greg Baca, R-Belen, said in a statement. “The Constitution says otherwise, and today, the court took action to remedy her blatant abuse of power against the citizens of New Mexico.”
The members of the House Republican caucus issued a statement as well.
“Today’s ruling by Judge Urias is a resounding rebuke of the Governor’s rogue order against the people of this state,” the House Republican caucus said. “The people of New Mexico can rest assured that any future attempt to undermine their constitutional rights will be met with the same swift action. Contrary to what the Governor said, the oath we as elected officials take is indeed absolute.”
On Sept. 8, Lujan Grisham issued public health and executive orders addressing the drug and gun violence issues in New Mexico.
One of the provisions of the public health order was a 30-day firearm ban in Albuquerque and Bernalillo County. Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen said in a press conference Monday that his office would not enforce that part of the order.
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez said he would not defend Lujan Grisham in the court cases.
While Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller would like a special session called to address gun violence.
This sparked outrage from all sides, especially Second Amendment enthusiasts and organizations. Several organizations and individuals filed for a TRO and injunction on Lujan Grisham’s public health order resulting in Wednesday’s hearing which only dealt with the restraining order.
A hearing about the injunctions is expected sometime later this month, no court dates have been set.
