Weekly Spotlight 9/22/23 – 9/28/23
Hundreds Gather at USCCA-FSL Action Fund Rally in Albuquerque
The turnout at our recent press conference and rally at Calibers Shooting Sports Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico, demonstrated the groundswell of opposition to the executive overreach happening in their state. USCCA-FSL Action Fund was joined by local officials, gun rights leaders and concerned citizens to speak out against Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s 30-day suspension of concealed carry in the city of Albuquerque and surrounding Bernalillo County.
Joining leaders from the Action Fund and other gun rights groups at the event were several local elected officials and Second Amendment advocates, including State Representative Stefani Lord and Albuquerque City Councilor Dan Lewis. This is the very reason why we created the USCCA-FSL Action Fund – to give citizens a platform to make their voices heard when pivotal events like this arise. In our call to action to oppose the Governor’s order, the Action Fund has already gathered more than 7,400 petition signatures.
Since Governor Grisham announced the unconstitutional “emergency public health order,” it has been met with a flood of legal challenges and backlash, including from the Governor’s own Attorney General and Albuquerque law enforcement. New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez and Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina have both clearly stated they cannot and will not defend the order.
Recognizing the hole she has dug herself into, Governor Grisham is starting to ‘narrow’ her order, now only limiting concealed carry to areas like parks and playgrounds. Nevertheless, the threat this poses to law-abiding, vulnerable citizens still stands. Why should a mother taking her children to the playground be stripped of a means to protect herself and her children? Why should a father taking his family to the park be subjected to criminals who do not obey the law?
Governor Grisham’s order does not have a leg to stand on, as legal experts have made clear, which is why citizens and politicians from both sides of the aisle have sounded the alarm. The fight to protect citizens’ Second Amendment rights is alive and well in New Mexico, but our battle is not over. It will take continued action from patriots across the country to ensure that this type of unconstitutional overreach does not occur again. The USCCA-FSL Action Fund will continue to seek opportunities to equip responsible gun owners to be their own strongest advocate in this fight.
Sign the Action Fund’s petition OPPOSING Governor Grisham’s unconstitutional order!
OTHER NEWS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED
- The Washington Post: N.M. Governor Narrows Her Ban On Carrying Firearms After Controversy
Less than a month after New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) issued a temporary public health order suspending open and concealed carry of firearms in the Albuquerque metro area, a federal judge blocked the effort, and Lujan Grisham issued a new order that largely curtails the ambitious and controversial move. Following fierce backlash, the revised order will limit the firearm ban to parks and playgrounds in Albuquerque and its surrounding county. Lujan Grisham issued the original order earlier this month, which would have banned carrying firearms in all public spaces throughout Albuquerque and the surrounding county for 30 days.
- Washington Examiner: California Passes Call For US Constitutional Convention To Limit Gun Access
The California State Legislature passed Governor Gavin Newsom’s call for a national Constitutional Convention to limit gun access. Prominent Democrats and Second Amendment advocates alike have criticized the decision to push for a convention, noting that there would be no limits on what such a convention could add or remove in a new draft of the national constitution. “In the face of decades of Congressional inaction and unelected judges that are putting Americans in danger, it is time for citizens to stand up for common sense to protect us against the uniquely American epidemic of gun violence,” said Newsom in a public statement.
A federal judge has temporarily blocked Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s suspension of gun rights in Albuquerque and Bernalillo County. That action has not stopped people from talking about the governor’s policy, though. Louie Sanchez is one of the owners for Calibers gun stores. Saturday afternoon, he said a group of people came out to talk about why the governor’s actions seem questionable. “Thank you to all my brothers and sisters who have decided to stand up to this unconstitutional act,” Sanchez said to the crowd.
North Dakota District Judge Daniel L. Hovland sided with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) over the regulation of firearms equipped with pistol-stabilizing devices. The Firearms Regulatory Accountability Coalition, Inc. v. Garland was a lawsuit filed by the Firearms Regulatory Accountability Coalition (FRAC) and 24 state attorney generals challenging the ATF’s final rule against pistol-stabilizing devices. The case made similar arguments as presented in three Texas cases involving the Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC), Gun Owners of America (GOA), and the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF).