Hundreds of gun owners took to the streets of Albuquerque over the weekend to openly carry their firearms in defiance of the state’s Democrat governor, Michelle Lujan Grisham, who unilaterally decided to suspend laws allowing open and concealed carry in the area.
Grisham signed an executive order on Thursday declaring that gun violence was a public health emergency in the Democrat-controlled state and the next day she decided to suspend carry laws in Albuquerque and the surrounding area for at least 30 days.
Grisham effectively admitted during a press conference that her order might be unconstitutional when she conceded that she might not win legal challenges filed against the order. She also admitted that criminals will not follow her order.
The blowback to her controversial order was so intense that even far-left anti-gun activist David Hogg pushed back on it.
Gun owners rallied in old Town Albuquerque on Sunday to protest the order by openly carrying firearms, including firearms that Americans rarely carry in public, like semi-automatic rifles.
Law enforcement officials did not enforce Grisham’s order, which included penalties of up to $5,000 for violators.
“Why I’m here, is the people’s voice needs to be heard, those on the ground those dealing with these situations need to be heard,” one protester told KRQE.
Another protester told the local station: “This governor has overstepped her bounds, twice now, big time, with squashing our constitutional rights, and it’s time for it to stop.”
A third demonstrator added: “We are a beacon of hope because we actually protect individual freedoms.”
Republican state Reps. Stefani Lord and John Block said on Saturday that they were pushing for Grisham to be impeached.
“I am calling on counsel to begin the impeachment process against Governor Grisham,” Lord said. “This is an abhorrent attempt at imposing a radical, progressive agenda on an unwilling populous(sic). Rather than addressing crime at its core, Governor Grisham is restricting the rights of law-abiding gun owners. Even Grisham believes this emergency order won’t prohibit criminals from carrying or using weapons; a basic admission that this will only put New Mexicans in danger as they won’t be able to defend themselves from violent crime.”
Block said that there was “no such thing as a state public health emergency exception to the U.S. Constitution.”
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