A gun rights organization, the National Association for Gun Rights, filed a lawsuit against New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham over her orders to declare gun violence a public health emergency.
The governor's order also suspends open and concealed carry laws in cities and counties based on crime statistics. Grisham issued the controversial emergency order following the shooting deaths of three children from July through September and a pair of mass shootings that occurred within the state.
New Mexico Gun Rights
The gun rights organization filed the lawsuit in the US district court for New Mexico on Saturday. It lists Grisham and New Mexico Department of Health Secretary Patrick Allen as defendants in the case.
The National Association for Gun Rights argued within the lawsuit that the governor's orders violated the Second Amendment. It read that the state must justify the Carry Prohibition by demonstrating that it is consistent with the country's historical tradition of firearm regulation.
Throughout the lawsuit, the plaintiffs cited a 2022 Supreme Court decision that struck down a New York gun law that restricted people's right to concealed carry outside their homes, as per CNN.
Additionally, the lawsuit lists Albuquerque resident Foster Allen Haines as a plaintiff as he intends to partake in the state's open carry law. It read that Haines is currently precluded from doing so by the Carry Prohibition, which the plaintiffs argued deprives him of his fundamental right to keep and bear arms for lawful purposes protected by the Second Amendment.
The plaintiffs also asked the court to grant an injunction prohibiting the emergency order from being enforced. On Saturday, a different lawsuit was also filed against the New Mexico governor, Allen, Department of Public Safety Secretary Jason Bowie, and State Police Chief W. Troy Weisler.
Bernalillo County resident Randy Donk and the Gun Owners of America filed that lawsuit. This suit likens the executive order and public health emergency declaration to "martial law" and argues that it was essentially a suspension of constitutional rights.
Question About Constitutional Rights
Grisham said that she expected legal challenges because of her public health emergency order but argued that she was compelled to do it because of recent shooting incidents. According to the Associated Press, one fatal victim of these is an 11-year-old boy who was outside of a minor league baseball stadium.
The governor noted that state police would be responsible for enforcing what would be considered civil violations. Albuquerque police Chief Harold Medina said that he would not enforce the order. Allen noted that he was uneasy about it because it raised too many questions about constitutional rights.
In a statement announcing the order, Grisham said that the time for standard measures had already passed. She added that something is already very wrong when New Mexicans are afraid to huddle in crowds, take their kids to school, or leave a baseball game.
The governor noted that gun violence is the leading cause of death for children ages one to 19 within the state, said ABC News.
