The National Association for Gun Rights, along with Albuquerque resident Foster Haines, has filed a lawsuit against New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and other state officials in response to her emergency order, which bans the carrying of firearms in Albuquerque.
The lawsuit, filed one day after Governor Grisham suspended concealed and open carry laws across the city, argues that this order infringes upon the Second Amendment rights of individuals. It references the 2022 Supreme Court decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, where the court ruled that New York’s “proper-cause” requirement for concealed firearm permits violated the Fourteenth Amendment by hindering law-abiding citizens with ordinary self-defense needs from exercising their Second Amendment rights.
The lawsuit aims to obtain a temporary restraining order preventing the enforcement of this measure.
The governor cited recent shooting deaths within the city as the rationale behind the temporary suspension of gun rights.
Gun rights, which include open and concealed carry laws, cannot be arbitrarily “suspended” by a governor, not even under the pretense of an “emergency”. If allowed to stand, it could set a dangerous precedent where any right could potentially be undermined by the state as long as an emergency declaration is issued.
New Mexico Governor Michelle Grisham just declared a "gun violence public emergency" and BANNED the public carry of guns in Albuquerque and the surrounding county by executive order.
— National Association for Gun Rights (@NatlGunRights) September 9, 2023
Not on our watch! THAT IS WHY WE ARE SUING THE GOVERNOR OF NEW MEXICO!https://t.co/ekMRsXIu91 pic.twitter.com/kRDOt9bxZV
