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The office of state Attorney General Gary King recently announced that King had joined a court challenge to a Maryland law that says a person must have “good and substantial reason” to get a permit to carry a concealed handgun.
Omitted from the announcement was this:
The same gun-rights group King is siding with in Maryland also is suing him over a provision in New Mexico law that restricts concealed carry permits here to U.S. citizens.
Federal law prohibits illegal immigrants from possessing guns, but New Mexico’s law also prevents foreign nationals living here legally from getting concealed carry permits.
The Second Amendment Foundation, which is based in the state of Washington but is active nationwide in challenging gun ownership restrictions, brought the lawsuits in Maryland and New Mexico.
As attorney general, King has a duty to defend New Mexico’s law, but it’s hard to imagine his heart is in it. He’s received an A-plus rating from the National Rifle Association for his longtime support of gun ownership rights.
In a posting on his blog Aug. 16, King spokesman Phil Sisneros announced that King and several other state attorneys general had filed a court brief in support of striking down a Maryland requirement that residents show a “good and substantial reason” to get a concealed carry permit.
“AG King believes the Second Amendment right of an honest person to bear arms should not be infringed unless there is a compelling reason for the state to take such action,” Sisneros wrote.
A federal judge in Baltimore struck down the Maryland requirement in March, saying, “A citizen may not be required to offer a ‘good and substantial reason’ why he should be permitted to exercise his rights.”
A federal appeals court in Richmond, Va., now has the case, and King and the other attorneys general asked the court to uphold the judge’s ruling.
New Mexico Attorney General Gary King supports striking down a Maryland requirement that residents show a “good and substantial reason” to get a concealed carry permit.
The Second Amendment Foundation filed suit in federal court in April challenging the provision in New Mexico law that restricts concealed carry permits to U.S. citizens.
John W. Jackson of Rio Rancho, a citizen of Australia who obtained permanent resident status in 2008, is also a plaintiff in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit argues that prohibiting resident legal aliens from carrying concealed weapons is unconstitutional under the Second Amendment and the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.
Defendants are King, in his capacity as attorney general, and Bill Hubbard, in his role as director of the Special Investigations Division of the state Department of Public Safety. Hubbard’s agency administers New Mexico’s Concealed Handgun Carry Act.
King hasn’t yet filed a legal brief in support of the provision restricting permits to U.S. citizens.
Last week, I sent Sisneros, the attorney general’s $77,500-a-year director of communications, an email asking him what King thought of the lawsuit by the Second Amendment Foundation.
“We are not yet familiar with any lawsuit that names the AG in this matter,” was the response from Sisneros.
After I sent Sisneros the case docket information, I got this email, “Correction. … The AG is aware of the case.”
Later, the spokesman said, “I suppose he (King) thinks he will respond in the usual legal fashion we employ in any lawsuit that names the AG in his capacity as AG.”
What about a conflict, I asked, since the attorney general is siding with the Second Amendment Foundation in one lawsuit while being sued by it in another?
“There is no conflict identified at this time but if one comes up in the future regarding this issue then it will be dealt with accordingly,” Sisneros wrote.
King, a two-time elected attorney general, has announced he will seek the Democratic nomination for governor in 2014.
The provision of New Mexico law that restricts concealed carry permits to U.S. citizens could be tossed out as unconstitutional.
In March, in another case brought by the Second Amendment Foundation, a federal judge struck down a similar provision in Massachusetts law.
U.S. District Judge Douglas Woodlock ruled Massachusetts couldn’t deny concealed carry permits solely on the basis of someone being a permanent resident alien.
“The Massachusetts firearms regulatory regime … contravenes the Second Amendment,” Woodlock wrote.
UpFront is a daily front-page news and opinion column. Comment directly to Thom Cole at tcole@abqjournal.com or 505-992-6280 in Santa Fe. Go to www.abqjournal.com/letters/new to submit a letter to the editor.
— This article appeared on page A1 of the Albuquerque Journal
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