Weekly Spotlight 9/15/23 – 9/21/23
New Mexico Governor Strips Citizens’ Right to Self-Defense, Abandons Constitutional Oath
By now, we know that attacks on the Second Amendment are commonplace among anti-gun politicians. But the blatant removal of citizens’ right to self-defense in New Mexico is especially shocking. On September 8th, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham issued an “emergency public health order” suspending New Mexicans’ constitutional right to carry an open or concealed firearm in Albuquerque and Bernalillo County for 30 days. This egregious executive overreach is an affront to New Mexicans’ right to self-protection and an abandonment of the Governor’s constitutional oath.
Not only does Governor Grisham lack the constitutional authority to implement such an unprecedented assault on the Second Amendment, she has no genuine belief that her order will actually be followed. During a press conference announcing the order, a reporter asked the Governor if she believed criminals will obey her 30-day prohibition on carrying firearms. Her response: “No.” Points for honesty? Of course, the order will not be followed by criminals who have zero regard for the law and its consequences. The only thing the unconstitutional order serves to do is threaten the rights of law-abiding citizens whose personal safety was placed in jeopardy.
In order to obtain a concealed carry permit in New Mexico, residents must complete 15 hours of firearm training and pass a live fire qualification. The idea that stripping these individuals of their lawful right in order to prevent violent crime is nonsensical and dangerous. Albuquerque police Chief Harold Medina stated that he won’t enforce the order, and New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez also announced that he cannot defend it – urging Governor Grisham in a letter to “reconsider this course of action.” The 30-day prohibition is already facing an onslaught of legal challenges. Even outspoken gun control advocates, like Congressman Ted Lieu and activist David Hogg, have sounded the alarm on this constitutional violation.
Governor Grisham says her “emergency public health order” is a “sacrifice that allows everyone else to get their arms around a growing, significant problem.” We ask this: What about the sacrifice of New Mexicans’ personal safety? A mother cannot protect herself while going to her car at night after work. A father taking his kids to the park cannot protect his family from an imminent threat of danger. While crime in New Mexico surges and criminals do not obey laws, the only people this unlawful order impacts are vulnerable, law-abiding citizens. This cannot – and, hopefully, will not – stand.
Tell Governor Grisham you OPPOSE this unconstitutional and reckless order!
OTHER NEWS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED
- The Washington Post: New Mexico’s Dicey Gun Restriction Draws Detractors Even From The Left
If there was a telling moment in the Democratic Party’s long struggle with gun restrictions, it came at the tail end of Barack Obama’s presidency. Amid a spate of mass shootings and failed attempts to pass new gun laws, Obama grew somewhat resigned, but also more angry and forceful. Suddenly, the immediate aftermath of those mass shootings wasn’t a time to focus just on the victims; it was also a time to seize the moment before the news cycle moved on and memories faded… This weekend brought one of the most significant moments in the fight over gun rights since then, as New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) sought to “do something.” But that something is of dubious constitutionality — so much so that some of her fellow Democrats and even a prominent gun-control activist quickly spoke out.
CalMatters noted that California adopted an “assault weapons” ban in 1989 and universal background checks in 1991. California “boosted” their “assault weapons” ban in 2000, adding prohibitions against magazines holding more than ten rounds. In addition to the decades-old “assault weapons” ban, magazine ban, and universal background checks, the gun control group Giffords pointed out that California also has gun storage laws. And, on July 15, 2022, Breitbart News explained that Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed legislation opening up gun manufacturers to lawsuits. California has so many other gun controls that the Mike Bloomberg-affiliated Everytown for Gun Safety ranked it the number one state for gun control. Ironically, the FBI showed that CA was also No. 1 for “active shooter incidents” in 2021.
- Washington Examiner: Supreme Court Tees Up Argument Dates On Major Gun, Trademark, And Social Media Disputes
The Supreme Court this week scheduled oral arguments for seven more cases this fall, some with eventual rulings that will define the 2023 term. Starting in October, justices will consider cases including a trademark dispute over the phrase “Trump too small,” whether public officials can block constituents on the platform formerly known as Twitter, and an appeal against a ruling that would bar the government from stripping gun rights from people subjected to domestic violence restraining orders. A 6-3 ruling last summer found that “history and tradition” would determine whether a gun regulation is constitutional under the Second Amendment.
- FOX News: Native American Women Taking Up Firearms Classes For Self Defense: ‘Refusing To Be Victims’
Gun ownership is stepping in to help bridge a safety gap in New Mexico’s vast Indian country, according to gun experts in the state. “No one is coming to save you” is a motto among Native Americans in New Mexico, according to Joe Talachy, a Pueblo of Pojoaque tribal officer who owns one of the few Native-founded gun stores in the U.S. Talachy joined law enforcement in 2005, before serving as lieutenant governor and then governor of the Pojoaque Pueblo, notching a total of 11 years in tribal leadership. Now, he’s back in law enforcement and opened Indigenous Arms 1680 Ltd. Co., where locals have flocked to arm themselves against the unforeseeable and sign up for gun safety classes.
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