Senate Republicans want Attorney General Merrick Garland to protect New Mexico gun owners from the Democratic governor’s “chilling” executive order suspending open- and concealed-carry laws, calling it an “unconstitutional power grab.”
The letter led by Sen. Thom Tillis, North Carolina Republican, called for Mr. Garland to “stop this unconstitutional act from standing,” saying the order violates the Second Amendment, the Fourth Amendment, and Article IV of the U.S. Constitution.
“Governor Grisham has issued an order which is being used to blatantly trample on the Second Amendment rights of the citizens of New Mexico, and the Department of Justice must act swiftly to stop this unconstitutional power grab,” said the six senators in the Wednesday letter.
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham issued an order last week declaring “gun violence a public health emergency,” citing the shooting deaths of three children in the last two months, including an 11-year-old boy killed Sept. 6 in a suspected road-rage incident.
Ms. Lujan Grisham declared the “time for standard measures has passed,” but her 30-day order has come under fire from gun-rights groups, state legislators, local law enforcement, and even New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez, who has refused to enforce the gun ban over constitutionality concerns.
Mr. Torrez, a Democrat, urged the governor to rescind her order, saying that only responsible gun owners are likely to observe the ban, meaning that “it is unclear how this action will lead to a measurable decline in gun violence in our community.”
The governor’s order prohibits carrying firearms on public property in Bernalillo County, the state’s most populous county, with exceptions for security guards and police. Gun owners with permits may carry their firearms on private property as long as they transport them in a locked box or use a trigger lock.
Ms. Lujan Grisham also ordered the state Regulation and Licensing Division to conduct monthly inspections of licensed firearms dealers, and the Health Department to compile a report on gunshot victims treated at hospitals.
The senators said the U.S. Constitution trumps the governor’s public-health authority.
“While the public health order may invoke state law to authorize this unconstitutional infringement, it should be no match for the authority which the DOJ has to enforce our rights under the U.S. Constitution,” the senators said. “That is why we are calling on you to enforce the Constitution and intervene on behalf of the constitutional rights of New Mexicans to stop this unconstitutional act from standing.”
The letter was also signed by Sens. Marsha Blackburn, Tom Cotton, John Cornyn, Lindsey Graham, and John Kennedy.
“This is a chilling action, and it is imperative that your Department act immediately to show that this kind of unconstitutional abuse will not be tolerated in New Mexico or anywhere else in the United States,” the senators said.
Ms. Lujan Grisham has stood by her emergency order despite the pushback from law-enforcement officials, including Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen and Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina, who have said the directive is unenforceable.
“It’s unconstitutional, so there’s no way we can enforce that order,” Sheriff Allen said at a Monday press conference.
Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller called Tuesday for a special session of the state Legislature, saying that “Albuquerque families can’t afford political debates that distract us from fighting violent crime.”
New Mexico had the seventh-highest gun death rate per capita in 2020, according to the Violence Policy Center. Of the 479 gun deaths in 2020, 69% were suicides and 31% were homicides, said John Hopkins University’s Center for Gun Violence Solutions.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.