New Mexico has been making national–and even international–headlines in the past week as Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham issued an executive order on Friday September 7th that banned guns from being openly carried in areas that “averag[e] 1,000 or more violent crimes per 100,000 and more than 90 firearm-related emergency department visits.” This means that the order applies only to Bernalillo County. However, it was later amended to only include places where children are present (public parks, playgrounds etc). The decision comes as gun violence and gun-related deaths in the city are trending upward. In fact, the governor herself stated that the executive order stemmed from the death of an 11 eleven year- old who was fatally wounded in a “road rage shooting.” The executive order declares gun violence as a public health emergency, and as such, allows the governor to take the measures she sees fit to contain it. The only people exempt from this order are law enforcement officers.
Even though the order has only been in effect for a week, there have already been five federal lawsuits (and counting) filed against the governor’s office for issuing it. The first suit was filed by the National Association for Gun Rights, and smaller pro-gun advocate groups swiftly followed. All of these lawsuits, however, make similar cases. They all state that Governor Lujan Grisham’s executive order is unconstitutional because it violates the Second Amendment, and New Mexico’s open carry law. These lawsuits have been supported by protests around New Mexico in places like the Civic Plaza and Old Town. During these demonstrations, protestors openly flaunted their guns, despite it being against the rules set by executive order. The governor, for her part, has continued to defend her decision by saying that as the governor, “conceal and open carry are state laws that” she has “jurisdiction over.”
While the order has been issued, it has not been put into practice yet by the rest of the state government. This is because several government officials within New Mexico actually oppose this order, as they believe it goes against the state’s law protecting open carry. In particular, Lujan Grisham’s own attorney general, Raul Torrez, has openly stated his opposition to the gun ban, and has decided that he will not enforce it. In a letter, he said the order “did not pass constitutional muster” and theorized that it wouldn’t really have any impact on public safety. The county sheriff, district attorney, Albuquerque mayor, Tim Keller, and the Albuquerque Police Department have all echoed similar sentiments. Some Republican political figures, particularly state legislators Stefani Lord and John Block, have even called for the governor to be impeached over the ban. The biggest roadblock to the order, though, is US District Court Judge David Urais, who blocked it within five days of it being signed.
Still though, debate on this gun ban persists. Gun control is already one of the most polarizing issues in the United States, and an abrupt order like this continues to make that fact abundantly clear. Most opposers of the order are touting it as part of a progressive agenda meant to curtail their Second Amendment rights. On the other hand, supporters of the order are calling it necessary, and a brave step to reduce gun violence. While most of the loudest backlash is from conservative politicians, the dividing line between the supporters and opposers of this order is not exactly partisan. In fact, the order has drawn backlash from individuals on both sides of the aisle, like Democratic congressman Ted Lieu of California, who said the order “violates the US constitution [which]…no state is exempt to.”
And what does it all mean for gun control at large? Currently, it seems like the order has only succeeded in creating surface level discussion about the role of guns in the United States, rather than any concrete change. Several Republican politicians have used this countywide order to demonstrate that national gun control legislation will have. Others have used it to point out that gun control legislation will not work, since even a small order such as this has been frozen by a federal judge. With all that said, Lujan Grisham’s order has increased gun violence awareness once again. So while her efforts have turned out lackluster, there is still hope that discussions on this important issue will continue to evolve.