New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Friday imposed a temporary ban on carrying guns in public in parts of the state after declaring an emergency following the shooting deaths of several children while responding to critics by claiming that the U.S. Constitution isn’t “absolute.”
Ms. Grisham, a Democrat, issued an emergency public health order on Friday, suspending the right to carry firearms in public across Albuquerque and the surrounding Bernalillo County for at least 30 days.
“The time for standard measures has passed,” Ms. Grisham said in a statement, adding that the measure is aimed at “quickly reducing gun violence.”
She said she expects legal challenges to the controversial decision but was moved to impose the ban because of recent shootings, including the recent death of an 11-year-old boy outside a minor league baseball stadium.
“Today, I join the family of an 11-year-old boy in mourning his violent death yesterday,” Ms. Grisham said in a statement on Sept. 7, in which she said she was declaring “gun violence a public health emergency in New Mexico.”
Ms. Grisham’s order has a carveout for licensed security guards and police officers, but private citizens with carry permits must transport their firearms in locked boxes and use trigger locks or other mechanisms to render the gun incapable of being fired.
The order also compels state regulators to carry out monthly inspections of licensed firearm dealers to ensure compliance with sales and storage laws, while requiring the Department of Health to issue a report on gunshot victims in New Mexico.
At a press conference Friday, a reporter asked Ms. Grisham what the value of a civil order was given that all the types of conduct that she said she hoped would be reduced thanks to her decision—like children shooting other children—are illegal already.
“Why not just do better enforcement?” the reporter asked.
Ms. Grisham replied by saying that her order would help law enforcement take more effective action against guns and it “sends a message.”
The reporter then pointed out that Ms. Grisham took an oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution before asking whether it’s unconstitutional for her to say that citizens can’t exercise their carry license.
