Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced a 30-day ban on carrying guns in Bernalillo County during a Sept. 8 news conference, basing the firearms ban on her emergency powers. Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina, right, told the governor directly he would not enforce it. The governor has since backed off the ban that law enforcement leaders said was unconstitutional.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced a 30-day ban on carrying guns in Bernalillo County during a Sept. 8 news conference, basing the firearms ban on her emergency powers. Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina, right, told the governor directly he would not enforce it. The governor has since backed off the ban that law enforcement leaders said was unconstitutional.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham recently declared gun violence and drug abuse public health emergencies and ordered a 30-day suspension of open-and concealed-carry laws in Albuquerque and Bernalillo County.
Lujan Grisham claimed authority to do so under the state’s Public Health Emergency Act and All Hazard Emergency Management Act. During a press conference, she also described emergencies as an “exception” to constitutional rights, explaining that “no constitutional right … including my oath, is intended to be absolute.”
