- A U.S. District Court judge has upheld New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's decision to block some of her public health orders.
- The blocked order was intended to end the right to carry firearms in many public parks in the Albuquerque area.
- Judge Keir Riggs denied the governor's request to keep in place a temporary ban on firearms in certain public places in the Albuquerque metropolitan area.
A U.S. District Court judge has upheld his decision to block part of the New Mexico governor's public health order suspending the right to carry firearms in many public parks in the Albuquerque area, and a Superior Court An appeal is pending.
Monday's order by Albuquerque-based Judge Keir Riggs denied the governor's request to continue a temporary ban on firearms in some public places in the Albuquerque metropolitan area, including most public parks. .
Riggs previously responded to a lawsuit filed by Torrance County resident James Springer, one of the plaintiffs in the log lawsuit, in which Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has prohibited the use of firearms in public parks and similar areas in the past. It concluded that no historical tradition of prohibition had yet been demonstrated. Governor by gun rights advocates.
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“Our position is that this is not something that is contemplated under the Second Amendment,” said Mr. Springer's attorney, A. Blair Dunn, who praised the judge's order.
New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham delivers the State of the Nation Address to open the 56th Congress at the Capitol in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on January 16, 2024. A public health order from Grisham suspended the right to carry firearms in many public parks. (AP Photo/Roberto E. Rosales)
Last year, U.S. District Judge David Urias issued a reversal in a victory for the governor, denying requests from other gun rights groups to temporarily block the firearms restrictions while challenges proceed. The decision on whether to adjust the orders from Mr. Urias and Mr. Riggs will likely fall to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit in Denver.
Lujan Grisham spokeswoman Maddie Hayden said Tuesday that the governor “respectfully” disagrees with Riggs.
“Judge Riggs’ opinion ignores this case law and the vast historical evidence in the record supporting the constitutionality of temporary restrictions imposed by public health orders,” Hayden said in an email. . “We respectfully disagree with this opinion and are confident that the ongoing appeal to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals will be successful.”
Second-term Democrat Lujan Grisham issued the emergency order last year in response to a spate of gun violence, including the fatal shooting of an 11-year-old boy outside a minor league baseball stadium.
Gun rights advocates are also asking the New Mexico Supreme Court to block the order. The court recently heard oral arguments in a lawsuit brought by Republican state legislators, the National Rifle Association and several Albuquerque-area residents.
The remaining public health orders include ordering monthly testing of firearms dealers across the state, reporting shooting victims at New Mexico hospitals and testing wastewater for illegal substances at schools.
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During the 30-day session, which ends on February 15, Lujan Grisham is also pushing for a wide range of legislative proposals on gun control and tougher penalties for violent crimes.
On Tuesday, a proposal to strengthen New Mexico's Red Flag gun control law passed its first House committee hearing on a party-line vote of 4-2, with Democrats supporting the bill from lawmakers including state Rep. Kristin Chandler of Los Alamos. It has passed. . Voting against the bill were two Republicans who are currently pursuing impeachment proceedings against the governor over his emergency health orders regarding gun violence.
New Mexico's red flag law is intended to remove firearms from people who pose a danger to themselves or others, and comes a year after a mass shooting by a lone gunman at a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas. It was enacted in 2020 in response to the Killed 23 people. The proposed changes would speed up the process of obtaining an “extreme risk” order to seize firearms and expand the pool of people who can temporarily petition for firearm removal to include medical professionals. .
