X owner Elon Musk has joined the quickly expanding chorus of voices calling for New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s head.
“At risk of stating what should be obvious, deliberately violating the Constitution is next-level illegal. How soon can this person be removed from office?” he tweeted late Friday evening, referencing Grisham.
Look:
At risk of stating what should be obvious, deliberately violating the Constitution is next-level illegal.
How soon can this person be removed from office?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 9, 2023
He posted the tweet hours after Grisham, a Democrat, filed an emergency order suspending open/concealed carry rights in Albuquerque and the surrounding Bernalillo County for a minimum of at least 30 days.
She claimed to have issued the suspension in response to several recent shootings that left children as young as five and eleven dead.
“The recent shooting deaths of a thirteen-year-old girl on July 28, a five-year-old girl on August 14, and an eleven-year-old boy on September 6, as well as two mass shootings this year spurred the governor to declare gun violence a public health emergency on Thursday,” according to a press release from her office.
“As I said yesterday, the time for standard measures has passed,” she herself said in a statement. “And when New Mexicans are afraid to be in crowds, to take their kids to school, to leave a baseball game – when their very right to exist is threatened by the prospect of violence at every turn – something is very wrong.”
Following the suspension, a massive backlash erupted, with state Sen. Greg Baca, the state Senate’s top-ranked Republican, leading the charge.
“A child is murdered, the perpetrator is still on the loose, and what does the governor do? She throws the mayor of Albuquerque under the bus and then targets law-abiding citizens with an unconstitutional gun order,” he said in a statement.
“Tragically, this is what we have come to expect from an administration that refuses to take responsibility for the crime epidemic gripping our state. It is time for the governor to stop pointing fingers and admit that her soft-on-crime approach has failed and put the safety of all New Mexicans in great jeopardy,” he added.
Public heath order for gun control? Stand strong, Bernalillo County! Stand up, New Mexico! We are not the criminals. Our rights are being trampled upon.
— Gregory Baca (@BacaForSenateNM) September 9, 2023
Even local police raised concerns, though to be clear, the suspension reportedly may only be enforced by the New Mexico State Police, not local officers.
“While I understand and appreciate the urgency, the temporary ban challenges the foundation of our constitution, which I swore an oath to uphold,” Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen said in a statement.
“I am wary of placing my deputies in positions that could lead to civil liability conflicts, as well as the potential risks posed by prohibiting law-abiding citizens from their constitutional right to self-defense,” he added.
Meanwhile, Republican state Reps. Stefani Lord and John Block released a joint press release calling for Grisham’s impeachment.
“I am calling on counsel to begin the impeachment process against Governor Grisham. This is an abhorrent attempt at imposing a radical, progressive agenda on an unwilling populous. Rather than addressing crime at its core, Governor Grisham is restricting the rights of law-abiding gun owners,” Lord said.
“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,” she added.
PRESS RELEASE: @RepBlock & I are calling for the impeachment of @GovMLG. New Mexicans won’t stand by as she disregards her oath to uphold our Constitution.
Read the full press release below! pic.twitter.com/r5kt9nOSvI
— Rep Stefani Lord (@Lord4NM) September 9, 2023
The order itself states that “no person, other than a law enforcement officer or licensed security officer, shall possess a firearm … either openly or concealed, within cities or counties averaging 1,000 or more violent crimes per 100,000 residents per year since 2021,” according to The Santa Fe New Mexican.
The only potential good news is that a violation of the order would produce nothing more than a misdemeanor penalty. In addition, the no open/concealed carry rule won’t apply to private homes, licensed gun dealerships, and shooting ranges.
Moreover, Grisham said during a news conference later Friday that she expected legal challenges to her order and wasn’t sure the order would survive in court.
She was right to worry, because on Saturday the National Association for Gun Rights and Foster Haines, a member who lives in Albuquerque, sued her over the order.
“She needs to be held accountable for stripping the God-given rights of millions away with the stroke of a pen,” the group’s founder, Dudley Brown, said in a statement, according to the Associated Press.
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V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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