New Mexico judges hear challenge to public health ban on guns in public parks and playgrounds
SANTA FE, N.M. — Gun rights advocates are urging the New Mexico Supreme Court to block emergency orders from Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham that ban people from carrying guns in public parks and playgrounds in the state's largest metropolitan area, addressing gun violence as a public health crisis.
The state Supreme Court was scheduled to hear oral arguments Monday in a lawsuit filed by Republican state lawmakers, the National Rifle Association and several Albuquerque-area residents, including retired law enforcement officers, former federal agents, licensed firearms instructors and a gun store. owner.
The state's legal standoff is one of many — from an Illinois ban on high-powered rifles to location-based restrictions in New York — since a U.S. Supreme Court decision expanded gun rights last year and as leaders in politically liberal states explore new avenues for restrictions. A California law banning firearms in most public places was set to go into effect on January 1, but a legal challenge has held up its implementation.
Lujan Grisham, a second-term Democrat, first invoked the orders in response to a spate of shootings, including the death of an 11-year-old boy outside a minor league baseball stadium.
The petitioners say Lujan Grisham has exceeded her authority as governor in violation of the Second Amendment, and that gun violence and drug abuse do not qualify as public health emergencies that could even temporarily limit access to firearms.
They accuse the governor of violating the Legislature's authority and coercive gun regulations refined over more than a century, including concealed firearm laws. The state Republican and Libertarian parties also support the legal challenge.
In defining what constitutes a public health emergency, the governor claims that both gun violence and drug abuse fall “comfortably within” this category due to the extremely dangerous conditions caused by weapons and toxic chemicals that pose an immediate threat to many New Mexico residents.
The temporary orders do not violate constitutional rights, she said.
In addition, a federal judge has allowed enforcement of the gun provision to continue as long as legal challenges persist. The October ruling by U.S. District Judge David Urias marked a victory for Lujan Grisham.
The governor's orders, first issued on September 8, 2023, sparked public protests among gun rights advocates and additional legal challenges in federal court that are still ongoing.
The initial restrictions on carrying weapons were scaled back from the original order that largely suspended the right to bear weapons in most public places, which the Bernalillo County sheriff and Albuquerque police chief had refused to enforce.
The governor's health order includes gun buyback guidelines, monthly inspections of firearms dealers statewide, reports on gunshot victims in New Mexico hospitals and wastewater testing to provide clues to illegal drug use in public schools.
Longtime NRA leader Wayne LaPierre resigned before a civil trial began Monday in New York over allegations that he treated himself to lavish perks at the expense of the powerful gun rights group.