New Mexico governor's suspension of right to public carry ignites protests, lawsuits and debates
- By Susan Montoya Bryan Associated Press
Some demonstrators defiantly wore holstered handguns on their hips or carried assault rifles in a Tuesday rally by gun-rights advocates, protesting New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's surprise order to suspend the right to carry firearms after two children were recently killed in separate shootings.
The rally unfolded on Albuquerque's Civic Plaza shortly before New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez announced he cannot defend the governor's public health order on firearms, exposing a divide between the state's top-ranked elected Democrats.
In his letter to Lujan Grisham, Torrez said that although he agrees a debate is needed on the impact of gun violence, it cannot be rebranded a public health emergency to justify a blanket 30-day prohibition against carrying firearms in and around Albuquerque. He urged the governor to consider whether her time would be better spent on developing comprehensive legislation.
"While I understand that frustration may have led you to undertake a unilateral approach to addressing the heart-wrenching challenge of gun violence in our community, I urge you to reconsider this course of action," said Torrez.
Many of the dozens of people gathered in Albuquerque Tuesday wore T-shirts in support of the right to bear arms, while others waved American flags and held signs reading: "Do Not Comply."
Alicia Otero, whose son was killed in 2021, held a poster that included a photo of 24-year-old Elias Otero and the words "I blame the shooter! Not the gun!"
"I'm here because I'm against gun violence and I've been crying to our governor to make changes and to hold the offenders accountable and now that she made this new order, it's unfair to us because we're scared," she said. "After things like this happened, we need to protect ourselves and now she's taking that away from us."
Otero said law abiding citizens are being punished by the order she said will have no effect on curbing crimes like the one her family suffered.
The governor issued her order on Friday suspending the open and concealed carry of guns in most public places. Lujan Grisham said she was compelled to act because of recent killings, including the death of an 11-year-old outside a minor league baseball stadium last week and the August shooting death of 13-year-old Amber Archuleta in Taos County.
Amber's father, Joshua Archuleta, applauded the order, saying his family was destroyed.
"We are looking for answers and solutions to this issue," he said in a Monday statement.
The Catholic Church is among the few who have joined longtime gun-control advocates in support of the order. The Most Rev. John C. Wester, archbishop of the Diocese of Santa Fe, insisted the governor is "not attacking the Second Amendment."
"I hope to hear more of an outcry over an eleven-year-old boy killed by a bullet fired in a road rage incident than over the right to carry a gun," he said.
Lujan Grisham defended her order as necessary, and rebuffed calls for her impeachment by Republican lawmakers, who have called on her to rescind it.
"As governor, it's my job to take action and put New Mexicans' safety first — not complain about problems we are elected to solve," she said in a social media post over the weekend on X, formerly known as Twitter.
But even some influential Democrats and civil rights leaders typically aligned with the governor's progressive political agenda warned that her well-intended move could do more harm than good to overall efforts to stem gun violence.
Several lawsuits have been filed, along with requests to block the order. No hearings have been scheduled yet in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque.
At an afternoon news conference, New Mexico Republican Party Chairman Steve Pearce accused Lujan Grisham of "totalitarian" behavior and called her order unconstitutional.
"We need to knock this thing down and send her packing," he said.
Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen and the police chief in Albuquerque said they won't enforce the order, saying it violates constitutional rights. State Police spokesman Ray Wilson said late Monday that no citations had been issued by his agency.
Allen is among top law enforcement officials and prosecutors who have have said they weren't consulted before Lujan Grisham sprung on them an order that even she admits will be ignored by criminals.
"It is quite irritating for me to see how this this 30-day ban completely overshadowed the robust conversations that we had with the governor and the office on what we are going to do to curb gun violence," Allen said. "We had arguments. But again, we had solutions."
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Associated Press writers Anita Snow and Terry Tang in Phoenix, Scott Sonner in Reno, Nevada, and Morgan Lee in Santa Fe, New Mexico, contributed to this story.
N.M. public health order isn’t only about guns - Austin Fisher, Source New Mexico
Media and public attention has so far focused mostly on the parts of the New Mexico public health order related to firearms. The executive action signed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham last week does a number of other things.
One of the two executive orders that provide the rationale for the public health order is entirely focused on what the governor’s administration refers to as “a growing and alarming trend of drug abuse.”
Lujan Grisham signed Executive Order 2023-132 on Sept. 8, the day before her health secretary signed the public health order. She wrote that drug use has resulted in a strain on health care resources, increased crime rates, homelessness and “disrupted family structures.”
“The State’s existing efforts to combat drug abuse, including prevention, treatment, and law enforcement initiatives, require immediate reinforcement and coordination to effectively address this public health crisis,” Lujan Grisham wrote in the order. “It is essential to marshal all available resources to mitigate the harms caused by drug abuse and to provide support and treatment options for individuals and families affected by this epidemic.”
The executive order on drugs cites data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showing there were 1,501 fatal overdoses reported in New Mexico in 2021, resulting in the fifth highest overdose rate in the United States.
In the order, Lujan Grisham attributed a surge in fatal overdoses to the accessibility and prevalence of synthetic opioids like fentanyl.
However, the public health order putting the executive orders into practice does not mention any support or treatment for drug users.
On Friday night, Source NM asked the governor’s office for the big picture public health reasoning for the new executive order. We asked to talk about how the order could save lives and prevent harm from a public health standpoint.
The public health order includes detailed plans for the New Mexico Department of Health to make a report on gun violence. We asked for the administration’s thinking around that data collection effort.
We also asked for examples that could be used to explain what the public health order does and how it could work.
As of Monday, a spokesperson for the governor’s office said they would get answers to us today.
ACLU WARNS ABOUT CRIMINALIZATION OF YOUNG NEW MEXICANS
On Monday, the New Mexico chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union released a statement raising concerns that Lujan Grisham’s use of emergency powers could lead to overzealous policing and senseless incarceration.
ACLU of New Mexico litigation manager Lalita Moskowitz said that Lujan Grisham’s solution to substance use disorder and gun violence “is to pour more resources into law enforcement.”
“Historically, this kind of approach leads to the over-policing of our communities, racial profiling, and increased misery in the lives of already marginalized people,” Moskowitz said. “Instead, (Gov. Lujan Grisham) should be following evidence-based solutions such as meaningful diversion and violence intervention programs and addressing the root causes of violence.”
Moskowitz said initiatives that prioritize treatment and improve access to services to facilitate recovery are “far more effective than criminalization or incarceration.”
TESTING SEWERS FOR DRUGS
The public health order also directs the state health and environmental departments to test sewer systems at all public schools for drugs, specifically fentanyl.
“The children and youth of New Mexico are particularly vulnerable to the negative impacts of drug abuse, as evidenced by the rising number of cases involving parental substance abuse and its subsequent effect on child welfare,” Lujan Grisham wrote in the executive order on drugs.
Source NM asked the governor’s office if this part of the order applies statewide, or is limited to Albuquerque and Bernalillo County like the firearm possession provision.
We’ve also asked if any schools in the state are prepared to do this kind of testing, how the state agencies will do the testing and when it will begin.
Moskowitz said the fentanyl crisis is severe, but the ACLU opposes “any actions that risk further criminalizing our youth or individuals struggling with addiction.”
JUVENILE PROGRAM SUSPENDED
The order also directs the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department to immediately suspend the Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative and to “evaluate juvenile probation protocols.”
The program helps children avoid juvenile prison, Moskowitz said, and the ACLU is deeply concerned about the governor’s decision to suspend it.
“We know that incarceration during childhood increases the likelihood that someone will end up in the adult criminal system,” Moskowitz said. “Ending a program that helps young people find a different path is counterproductive to public safety.”
Source NM has asked the governor’s office how the Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative and juvenile probation are the source of gun violence.
Moose caught near Downtown Santa Fe – Santa Fe New Mexican, KUNM News
A moose was captured in a neighborhood near downtown Santa Fe Tuesday. The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that the 1,000-pound animal known as “Marty” to locals has likely wandered Northern New Mexico for about a year.
Department of Game and Fish staff tranquilized the animal after hearing from neighbors that it was in a field near houses.
A spokesperson for the department told the New Mexican that the moose will see a wildlife veterinarian before being relocated, possibly to Colorado.
Officials say Santa Fe is the farthest south that they have seen a moose in New Mexico.
State broadband director steps down – By Megan Myscofski, KUNM News
The director of the New Mexico Office of Broadband Access and Expansion is leaving the post after a little over a year.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced Kelly Schlegel’s retirement Tuesday and praised her work expanding broadband in rural parts of the state.
New Mexico secured $675 million dollars in federal funding earlier this year to improve broadband services under her leadership.
Her last day will be this Friday, September 15th.
State offers water testing for private wells in Lamy – By Megan Myscofski, KUNM News
Lamy residents with private water wells will have access to free water well testing next week.
The New Mexico Environment Department is hosting an event on September 23rd from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. where it will offer 100 free tests.
Anyone interested will need to bring a water sample to the event. Instructions can be found on the department’s website.
Test results will be mailed to participants afterwards. The tests normally cost about $150.
Outrage intensifies over New Mexico governor's temporary gun ban as sheriff vows not to enforce it - By Susan Montoya Bryan Associated Press
Federal lawsuits, cries for impeachment and outside protests.
Democratic New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said she would welcome a fight after announcing an emergency order to suspend the right to carry firearms in most public places around Albuquerque. That's exactly what she's getting.
Since she issued the 30-day public health order on Friday, a furor has rained down from gun owners, state Republican lawmakers and civil rights advocates. Even some in her own party questioned the move.
The sheriff who oversees the county that includes New Mexico's largest city, Albuquerque, vowed Monday not to enforce it, joining the county's top prosecutor, and the Albuquerque mayor and city's police chief.
"It's unconstitutional, so there's no way we can enforce that order," Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen said during a news conference. "This ban does nothing to curb gun violence."
A gun rights group filed a federal lawsuit within 24 hours asking a court to block the order from taking effect, and other federal lawsuits followed. Critics denounced the order as an infringement on the gun rights of law-abiding citizens.
GOP state lawmakers also proposed initiating impeachment proceedings against the governor, a move that would require buy-in from the Democrats who control the Legislature.
"My constituents have reached out to me in droves, emailing and texting me that this is insane, this is horrifying, this is unconstitutional," said Republican state Rep. John Block of Alamogordo, representing a conservative stronghold in southern New Mexico.
Lujan Grisham, a former congresswoman, began a second term in January and can't run again immediately for another term.
A key legislative ally of the governor on gun control initiatives urged her to rescind the public health order.
"An unconstitutional approach undermines the important collaboration gun issues deserve, and the important role of a Governor to lead genuine reforms," Democratic state Sen. Joseph Cervantes of Las Cruces wrote on X, formerly Twitter. Cervantes had successfully sponsored a 2020 red flag law making it easier for authorities to take weapons from people deemed dangerous to themselves or others.
The head of the lobbying arm of the National Rifle Association, Randy Kozuch, issued a statement Sunday calling the order a "shocking" act of "administrative fiat." The ACLU voiced objections that the governor's actions could lead to overzealous policing and infringe on privacy.
"This kind of approach leads to the over-policing of our communities, racial profiling, and increased misery in the lives of already marginalized people," said Lalita Moskowitz, litigation manager for the ACLU of New Mexico. "The governor should be following evidence-based solutions such as meaningful diversion and violence intervention programs and addressing the root causes of violence."
The order applies to open and concealed carry in most public places and is tied to a threshold for violent crime rates currently only met in metropolitan Albuquerque. Police and licensed security guards are exempt.
Violators could face civil penalties and a fine of up to $5,000, gubernatorial spokeswoman Caroline Sweeney said. Residents still could transport guns to some private locations such as a gun range or gun store, but only with a trigger lock — a container or mechanism making it impossible to discharge.
Lujan Grisham said she was driven by a number of recent child shooting deaths. "It is time to declare an end to this kind of violence. It is in fact an epidemic," she said last week, while acknowledging criminals surely would ignore her order.
Among the killings, she pointed to the August shooting death in northern New Mexico's Taos County of 13-year-old Amber Archuleta.
The girl's father applauded the action, saying his family was destroyed. "We are looking for answers and solutions to this issue," Joshua Archuleta said in a statement released by his attorney.
Gun safety organizations also voiced support.
Saira Rao, co-founder of Here4TheKids, a group advocating for banning guns and fossil fuels outright, praised Lujan Grisham's actions — and wished it should be made permanent.
"It's inhumane that we haven't eliminated the number one killer of children and teens in this country," she said. "So I salute the governor for making that first brave step for saving our children."
The Catholic Church also weighed in. Lujan Grisham "has been consistent in addressing gun safety through legislation and is not now attacking the Second Amendment. She knows the law," Santa Fe Archbishop John C. Wester said in a statement.
New Mexico was among five states with the highest rates of gun killings in 2021, according to an analysis from the nonpartisan Pew Research Center based on death-certificate data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It found 11.7 killings per 100,000 people in New Mexico, just below Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and the District of Columbia.
Violent crime has become especially pronounced in metro Albuquerque, where homicides have been on a record-setting pace in recent years. In 2022, a new record was set with 120 people killed, according to police data. This year, there have been 76 victims as of Sept. 8.
Gun-toting protesters held a peaceful rally in Albuquerque's Old Town area with another scheduled Tuesday in the heart of Albuquerque.
Sheriff Allen claims the governor sprung her plans on officials just moments before her news conference, leaving him shocked and irritated. He plans to push lawmakers to call a special session to address violence in Albuquerque.
"I have to turn my irritation and anger into solutions," Allen said.
Food and Drug Administration approves COVID boosters for upcoming season - Jennifer Shutt, States Newsroom via Source New Mexico
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved the latest round of COVID-19 boosters, as public health officials brace for another cold and flu season.
An advisory panel at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is scheduled to vote on recommendations Tuesday, the final step in the process before people will be able to get the shots.
“Vaccination remains critical to public health and continued protection against serious consequences of COVID-19, including hospitalization and death,” said Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.
“The public can be assured that these updated vaccines have met the agency’s rigorous scientific standards for safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality,” Marks added. “We very much encourage those who are eligible to consider getting vaccinated.”
The updated COVID-19 booster shots are made by Moderna and Pfizer.
The FDA said in a statement that people 5 and older can get one dose of the updated mRNA COVID-19 vaccine as long as it’s been at least two months since their last dose of the vaccine.
Vaccinated children between six months and 4 years old can get one or two doses of the updated vaccine. Unvaccinated children in the same age range are eligible for three doses of the updated Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine or two doses of the updated Moderna shot.
“The updated vaccines are expected to provide good protection against COVID-19 from the currently circulating variants,” the FDA said in a statement. “Barring the emergence of a markedly more virulent variant, the FDA anticipates that the composition of COVID-19 vaccines may need to be updated annually, as is done for the seasonal influenza vaccine.”
Hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19 have been trending upward in recent weeks, though officials aren’t expressing alarm at the rise in severe illness.
The number of hospitalizations has risen by nearly 16% while deaths increased by almost 11%, according to data from the CDC.
The percentage of Americans getting COVID-19 shots has steadily decreased since the first round of vaccinations rolled out in the last weeks of 2020.
More than 81% of the country got at least one dose of the original vaccine, but 70% completed the primary two-dose series. Just 17% of the U.S. population decided to get the bivalent vaccine that was approved last year, according to CDC data.