Democratic New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is under fire from members of her own party after temporarily suspending open and concealed carry in Albuquerque under an emergency health order.
“I support gun safety laws. However, this order from the Governor of New Mexico violates the US Constitution. No state in the union can suspend the federal Constitution.” California Democratic Rep. tweeted. Ted Lieu.
Lujan Grisham temporarily suspended open and concealed carry laws in Bernalillo County for at least 30 days, beginning Sept. 8. The announcement was spurred by the fatal shootings of children, including a 13-year-old girl in July, a 5-year-old girl in August and an 11-year-old boy this month.
“As I said yesterday, the time for common measures has passed,” the governor said, according to a statement issued by his office. “And when New Mexicans are afraid to be in crowds, to take their children to school, to leave a baseball game – when their right to exist is threatened by the prospect of violence at every turn – something is very wrong.”
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New Mexico Gov. spoke. Michelle Lujan Grisham in an interview in her office in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Thursday, Aug. 8, 2019. (Photographer: Steven St John/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Liberal gun control activist David Hogg responded to Lieu saying he “agreed” that the order violates the Constitution, and followed that Lujan Grisham’s argument for a temporary ban doesn’t hold water.
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Rep. Ted W. Lieu (D-CA) speaks during a press conference with the incoming House Democratic Leadership at the US Capitol on Dec. 13, 2022 in Washington, DC (Getty Images)
“I support gun safety but there is no such thing as a state public health emergency exception in the US Constitution,” Hogg posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Hogg appeared to follow up with another post saying “one of the things I appreciate most about the Democratic Party is that we are not in a cult,” and that members have different views on issues such as gun control.
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“It’s a good rule of thumb to make sure you don’t agree with someone 100% because no one is all the way [sic] I am especially right. I will tell you this though, I will say and do what I think is right no matter how unpopular it is. If the Dems haven’t done enough on gun violence I have and I will tell you. If I feel they approach it in a way I don’t agree with I will also tell you,” he posted.
David Hogg, co-founder of the March For Our Lives, delivers remarks at the 60th Anniversary of the March On Washington at the Lincoln Memorial on August 26, 2023 in Washington, DC (Getty Images)
Lujan Grisham’s press secretary Caroline Sweeney told Fox News Digital on Sunday that the order “does not suspend the Constitution but rather states the laws over which the governor has jurisdiction,” when asked about Lieu’s posts and Hogg.
“The governor is looking for proactive partners who will bring solutions to the table – not naysayers who don’t have real answers to the gun violence epidemic we face,” Sweeney continued. “He was elected to serve the people of New Mexico, and not a day goes by that he doesn’t hear from a constituent asking for more to be done to stop this horrific violence. If Ted Lieu is interested in addressing this issue, We invite him to join our next police academy class in January.”
The governor on Sunday also responded to Lieu’s tweet, inviting him to a police academy class to help “suppress gun violence.”
“Hey Ted, conceal and open carry are state laws that I have jurisdiction over. If you’re really interested in helping stop gun violence, I’d be happy to join our next police academy class,” Grisham tweeted.
Conservatives and commenters on social media were quick to mock the New Mexico governor for losing support from two liberal champions of gun control, while others, including Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, expressed shock at agreeing with a Democrat on the gun issue.
Two Republican lawmakers in New Mexico, Reps. Stefani Lord and John Block, called for the impeachment of Lujan Grisham in the order for a “despicable attempt to impose a radical” agenda on residents.
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“I am calling the attorney to begin the impeachment process against Governor Grisham,” Lord said.
“This is a despicable attempt to impose a radical, progressive agenda on an unwilling population. Instead of addressing crime at its core, Governor Grisham is limiting the rights of gun owners who comply with the law. Even Grisham believed that this emergency order would not prohibit criminals from carrying or using weapons; a basic admission that it would only endanger New Mexicans because they would not be able to defend themselves from violent crime,” Lord continued.
New Mexico Gov. spoke. Michelle Lujan Grisham at Arcosa Wind Towers, Aug. 9, 2023, in Belen, New Mexico. (AP)
The New Mexico governor has also been hit with several lawsuits from Second Amendment groups, including The National Association for Gun Rights, which said president Lujan Grisham was “throwing up the middle finger to the Constitution.”
The NRA also slammed the order as “shocking” in exclusive comments to Fox News Digital, and called on the governor to address “soft-on-criminal policies” to remedy crime trends instead of banning guns.
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“In a shocking move, Governor Lujan Grisham suspended Second Amendment rights by administrative fiat, ignoring the US Constitution and the New Mexico Constitution. Instead of destroying the fundamental rights of law-abiding New Mexicans, he must address the soft-on-criminal policies that really put its citizens at risk,” NRA-ILA Executive Director Randy Kozuch told Fox.
