New Mexico Governor Bans Guns in Albuquerque

You probably know that New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham banned people – including concealed carry permit holders – from carrying guns in Albuquerque because of what she says is a public health crisis. But did you know that Gun Owners of American (GOA) has already sued to have her unconstitutional action thrown out? The governor is taking heat from all sides.

Unconstitutional and Ineffective

This order directly opposes the Constitution’s Second Amendment, which allows people to “keep and bear arms.” The Supreme Court has Rule that the phrase “bear arms” mean to carry for self-defense. Both the people in New Mexico and sworn law enforcement officers should ignore this ilegal and unconstutitional action.

Their New Mexico constitution states, “No law shall abridge the right of the citizen to keep and bear arms for security and defense, for lawful hunting and recreational use.” When the governor has authority to do things like suppress an insurrection and call up the state militia, I don’t see anywhere in the state constitution where the governor has the power to ban carrying of weapons. There is likely, however, a portion of the state code in which the legislature granted the governor the authority to declare an emergency. If so, this is an area of state law that the legislators may wish to reconsider.

Like most anti-gun measures proposed to stop gun violence, this law targets legal gun owners instead of criminals. None of the recent shootings in Albuquerque that the governor used to justify her actions were committed by legally licensed gun owners. These were shootings by criminals and juveniles, people who are already prohibited from owning or carrying guns. The new “crackdown” will be ineffective in stopping gun violence committed by gangs.

In short, it’s just an excuse to crack down on law abiding gun owners and see how far they can push us. If we just roll over, you can bet it will be a statewide ban or a longer ban the next time. That’s why it is important the GOA has already sued to stop this action.

Declaration of an Emergency

However, this is not the first use of an emergency to suspend constitutional rights. Think about what happens when a governor declares a curfew after a natural disaster. Or when the government locked businesses down because of COVID.

I once lived in a Southern state where, if the governor declared an emergency, stores could not sell guns, ammunition or alcohol. (That sounds bass-ackwards to me. Emergencies are when you will need at least two out of the three.) I should note that I don’t know if that is still the case, but I remember seeing signs in the store after a hurricane swept through.

There are many in the prepping community who believe the government will confiscate our stored food during an emergency, justifying an obviously illegal action by saying it’s OK during an emergency. These same government officials may then herd us into refugee camps “for our own safety.” Let’s not get used t acquiescing to frequent emergency declarations.

Fight it Now

This is why New Mexicans can’t roll over and accept the gun ban. We can’t say, “Oh, it’s only for 30 days.” Remember when we were supposed to wear masks and be locked down for just 15 days?

Do you see a pattern here?

I don’t live in Albuquerque, and based on the website stats, neither do most of our visitors and regular readers. That doesn’t mean this doesn’t matter to us. What succeeds today in New Mexico will be rolled out next month in New York, Massachusetts, Maryland, Illinois and other anti-gun states. If they get away with it, then it won’t be long before liberal governors declare health emergencies in their states and banning guns left and right, even if they are in conservative states.

If you don’t exercise your rights, they will atrophy, just like your muscles. Stand up to tyranny. Stand up to illegal actions by governors and other politicians.