Does New Mexico’s governor know she put a cornerstone action item of the gun control movement in legal jeopardy? Do you think she regretted banning open and concealed carry for just the city of Albuquerque amid a slew of shootings, one of which ended with the death of an 11-year-old? Michelle Lujan Grisham did that over the weekend, sparking a furor from all sides.
There was vocal bipartisan opposition to this order, which she backed by declaring gun violence a public health emergency. It’s only for 30 days, but Grisham is trying to expand what the government did with COVID to constitutional Second Amendment rights, making for a legal showdown in the courts.
When David Hogg, one of the country's most vocal and visible anti-gun voices, calls out Grisham for making up the law, she chucked a Hail Mary pass way past the endzone.
To no one’s surprise, lawsuits have been filed. How often have you heard the left say we must do something after a shooting? Well, she did, albeit illegally curbing law-abiding citizens’ gun rights. Emotionalism can lead one down some illegal paths in public policy, which is a prime example.
Yea, I doubt a federal judge is going to look kindly at this press conference where Governor Michelle Grisham (D.) openly talks about wanting to arrest licensed gun carriers and her view that her own oath of office is not absolute. This video is wild. pic.twitter.com/gKOYjj4S8A
— Stephen Gutowski (@StephenGutowski) September 9, 2023
No one wants Albuquerque to become the Bakara Market, but voters and legislators decide when and if there will be change, stating the obvious, though that appears to be news to Ms. Grisham. Law professor Jonathan Turley added that Grisham probably felt that her 30-day order would pass constitutional muster, and she’ll probably use that to quell any legal challenge.
....Yet, such moves would reinforce the view that, despite taking an oath to uphold the Constitution, Grisham knows that this is not just a political stunt but an unconstitutional political stunt. If she thought it was constitutional, why would the period be limited to 30…
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) September 11, 2023
...Some judges may not be satisfied that Grisham can violate the Constitution in brief increments and then declare the matter moot. If it is likely to be repeated as a policy (or has some other continuing harm), some courts could decline to dismiss on mootness grounds.
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) September 11, 2023
“Some judges may not be satisfied that Grisham can violate the Constitution in brief increments and then declare the matter moot. If it is likely to be repeated as a policy (or has some other continuing harm), some courts could decline to dismiss on mootness grounds,” he wrote.
He elaborated on his blog, pointing out that one could also successfully argue that the 30-day order would return like the seasonal flu.
“Challengers could argue that the matter is not moot when the order can be and is likely to be repeated in the future. That is always a challenging claim to make, but it is clearly true in this case. What is clear is that this is unambiguously and undeniably unconstitutional under existing precedent.”
The end game for the left is the destruction of the Second Amendment, a playbook we’ve known for years. We all see their scheming, which is why universal background checks, though poll-tested nicely, are a Trojan Horse for a gun registry, a foundational piece for a mass confiscation exercise. They don’t want to discuss mental health care, at the core of some of the worst mass shootings over the past 20 years. The GOP has offered more resources to shore up these services that have long been held together by spit and duct tape—Democrats don’t want it unless they get their anti-gun initiatives first, which don’t enhance public safety.
They tried the ban on so-called “assault weapons” multiple times and failed. The federal level is a legislative gauntlet that often fails, which is why, in 2018, they set their sights on the state level, where they clinched some significant wins in Vermont and Florida, both with A-rated NRA governors, now-Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) and Phil Scott (no relation) (R-VT). But that can only go so far to fill the activist coffers since blue states already have stringent anti-gun laws on the books. It circles back to rural, Republican states, bastions for gun rights.
COVID allowed Democrats to take government power for a spin, going so far as to change in-person voting laws for political advantage illegally. Before that, you saw anti-gun voices, including the surgeon general, claim that gun violence is a public health crisis, paving the way for this grossly illegal order in New Mexico. You know the left would love to issue these like candy after every shooting, but Grisham might have delivered the legal kill shot to one of the left’s last remaining gun control talking points that aren’t insane.