New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham faced intense backlash, including from leftists, for banning law abiding people from being able to carry guns in Albuquerque and the surrounding county for at least the next 30 days.
Grisham signed an executive order on Thursday declaring that gun violence was a public health emergency in the Democrat-controlled state.
On Friday, Grisham unilaterally suspended open and concealed carry laws in Albuquerque and the surrounding area. She said that she could further lengthen or renew her order — which was immediately slammed by many as being unconstitutional.
Grisham effectively admitted that her order might be unconstitutional when she conceded that she might not win legal challenges filed against the order.
Some of the criticism against Grisham came from an unlikely source: far-left anti-gun activist David Hogg.
“I support gun safety but there is no such thing as a state public health emergency exception to the U.S. Constitution,” Hogg wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
I support gun safety but there is no such thing as a state public health emergency exception to the U.S. Constitution. https://t.co/6GfbOZLc7g
— David Hogg 🟧 (@davidhogg111) September 9, 2023
Another leftist, Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA), also pushed back on the executive order.
“I support gun safety laws. However, this order from the Governor of New Mexico violates the U.S. Constitution,” Lieu wrote on X. “No state in the union can suspend the federal Constitution. There is no such thing as a state public health emergency exception to the U.S. Constitution.”
In New Mexico, Republican state Reps. Stefani Lord and John Block said on Saturday that they were pushing for Grisham to be impeached.
“I am calling on counsel to begin the impeachment process against Governor Grisham,” Lord said. “This is an abhorrent attempt at imposing a radical, progressive agenda on an unwilling populous. Rather than addressing crime at its core, Governor Grisham is restricting the rights of law-abiding gun owners. Even Grisham believes this emergency order won’t prohibit criminals from carrying or using weapons; a basic admission that this will only put New Mexicans in danger as they won’t be able to defend themselves from violent crime.”
Block said that there was “no such thing as a state public health emergency exception to the U.S. Constitution.”
X owner Elon Musk responded to Grisham’s order by writing: “At risk of stating what should be obvious, deliberately violating the Constitution is next-level illegal. How soon can this person be removed from office?”
At risk of stating what should be obvious, deliberately violating the Constitution is next-level illegal.
How soon can this person be removed from office?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 9, 2023
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) responded, “She’s nuts, but she’s taking what the tyrants did during COVID (forced jabs, travel bans, closed businesses, suppressed speech — with no laws passed) to the next level.”
Other notable responses included:
“Emergencies” are vehicles that deliver tyranny. https://t.co/885ZGRSiFP
— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) September 10, 2023
“Take action?” Your big city hand-picked DA refused to do just that resulting in a crime wave. Your big city mayor gave tax $ to Planned Parenthood instead of increasing protection of businesses begging for help — and then demanded biz pay more for protection. You’re a FRAUD. https://t.co/FfHmV62oWu
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) September 10, 2023
Governor Lujan Grisham either doesn’t understand basic civics or doesn’t care one bit about constitutional governance. In either case, she should promptly resign from office or be impeached. https://t.co/GLG32wW6fX
— Justin Amash (@justinamash) September 10, 2023
She does not have any governing authority to suspend any state laws, proven here by her very own usage of their definition. She should be removed. https://t.co/oRMfY0af4D
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) September 10, 2023