OPINION: Standing united against violence, fighting for our values

As leaders in the New Mexico House and Senate, we strongly condemn all acts of political violence because they make all of us less safe. The recent assassination of Republican political activist Charlie Kirk and the brutal murder of Minnesota Democratic state legislator and Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband represent an unconscionable escalation of targeted political violence in our country. Unfortunately, we’ve also experienced that kind of violence here in our own state, from orchestrated shootings at Democratic lawmakers’ homes, to the recent bomb threats directed at our own House and Senate leadership, forcing the evacuation of a school, to firebomb and vandalism attacks at the Republican Party of New Mexico headquarters.

These threats and acts of terror strike at the very foundation of democratic governance. When political leaders and their families become targets simply for their beliefs or service, it threatens the safety of every American who engages in public life. We must speak with one voice against this dangerous trend and make clear that it has no place in our state or our country.

As elected leaders, we also understand that we cannot allow political violence to stifle debate, weaken our democracy, or prevent us from standing firm in our values and fighting for the needs of New Mexicans. The people of our state deserve access to health care, education and opportunities to thrive. Unfortunately, right now a toxic combination of chaos, cruelty and dysfunction coming out of Washington, D.C., threatens New Mexicans’ access to these necessities.

Your New Mexico Democrats will not sit idly as drastic federal funding cuts threaten the well-being of our families and communities. Thanks to years of smart fiscal planning and thoughtful policymaking, New Mexico is well-prepared to act decisively to shield our residents from federal policies that would take us backward by stripping away health care, nutrition assistance and public media access from our communities.

In the Oct. 1 special legislative session, we will deliver immediate relief and take steps toward long-term stability for working families, rural communities and vulnerable populations across the state.

We will protect your access to affordable health care coverage by expanding premium assistance eligibility, as Republicans in Washington strip away protections and costs skyrocket. Health care is a right, not a privilege, and New Mexico will ensure no family pays more than they can afford.

We will move to safeguard New Mexico’s rural health care system by providing emergency stabilization grants to rural providers facing closure, and updating eligibility criteria to include high-need communities like Cuba, Jemez and Hatch. Access to health care shouldn’t depend on your income or ZIP code.

As national politicization threatens to compromise public health standards, we will empower our New Mexico Department of Health to make science-based decisions so that New Mexicans have continued access to evidence-based vaccines.

We will also address the devastating impact of federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program cuts that threaten to make it harder for 450,000 New Mexicans to put food on the table and take away vital nutrition education programs from children. No New Mexican should go hungry because politicians in Washington are playing political games.

Finally, we will protect public broadcasting funding so that rural and underserved communities maintain access to critical emergency-related information through trusted local news sources.

Special sessions are most effective when they address New Mexicans’ immediate concerns with specific, targeted legislation that has already been thoroughly vetted and evaluated. That is exactly what we will do this October. These efforts represent just the first step. In the upcoming regular session, we will continue our ongoing work to improve public safety, further expand access to health care, and address the other pressing issues facing our families and communities.

New Mexico is not allowing rising political violence or federal dysfunction to weaken our democracy and harm our people. We are standing united in defense of our values and taking bold action to protect every New Mexican. We are choosing courage, community and action over fear, division and despair.