Although Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM) was forced to amend her unconstitutional gun ban that she had announced earlier this month for in Albuquerque and the surrounding Bernalillo County under the guise of "an emergency public health order," the fight to take action against the governor is far from over. A poll released earlier this week commissioned by the New Mexico Shooting Sports Association and conducted by co/efficient shows that a majority of voters, 68 percent, oppose the ban.
The poll also looked to voters' views on issues on crime and gun control overall. For instance, an overwhelming majority, at 83 percent, believe that "we keep our families save from harm" by "cracking down on violent criminals." Just 7 percent believe that we do so by "disarming law abiding citizens." In fact, voters are more likely to say they're unsure, 11 percent of them, than they are to favor disarming.
Another key finding of the poll is that just 3 percent believe "violent criminals will respect and follow the ban on carrying firearms." Eighty-nine percent believe they will not, which includes 82 percent of Democrats.
"New Mexicans strongly share the same view - their community is less safe due to Governor Lujan Grisham’s ban on the carrying of firearms by law-abiding citizens," the poll's memo noted. "There is broad agreement that violent criminals will still have guns and will still commit crimes. The ban on lawful concealed carry is proving to be overwhelmingly unpopular among all New Mexicans, with only 3% believing that criminals will respect and follow the ban on carrying firearms in Albuquerque."
Local news outlet KOAT Action News 7 included a statement from the defiant governor's office in their reporting on the poll.
"The governor talks every day with New Mexicans who are tired of feeling unsafe and want action to address the gun violence epidemic. This is a joke of a poll from out-of-state Republican political operatives who won’t even comply with basic industry standards of releasing question wording. The Governor is leading through executive action to address the safety and needs of New Mexicans, not out-of-state Republican political hacks," the governor's office said.
As the local news report noted, co/efficient has a B+ rating from FiveThirtyEight. Further, a memo releases the wording of certain questions in addition to key observations.
While the governor's office, and the governor herself, have frequently lambasted their political opponents as not being interested in solutions, that hasn't been the case. KOAT Action News 7 quotes the New Mexico Shooting Sports Association Zachary Fort on that matter. "The governor is not alone in being concerned about crime. We're all concerned by it. We all live with it on a day-to-day basis. But we need real solutions, not this political gamesmanship with things that are blatantly unconstitutional," he said.
The poll was conducted September 14-September 18, starting just before Grisham had amended the order, but right after she faced a loss in the courts. It included 1,367 likely general election voters with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.21 percent.
State Rep. John Block, a Republican who is co-leading impeachment efforts against Grisham along with fellow Republican state Rep. Stefani Lord, has also spoken out about solutions.
Earlier this week, Block provided a statement to Townhall in response to another statement from the governor's office referring to impeachment efforts as a "political stunt," something they were doing "instead of coming up with solutions to protect all New Mexicans."
"The governor still lives in a world of delusion as crime ravages New Mexico. Despite dozens of Republican bills proposed to fight crime in the state, every one of these died at the hands of her allies in the Legislature," he shared. "She has had five long years to fix this catastrophe, and the people aren’t buying her desperate attempts to blame the GOP when Democrats hold the governorship, majorities in both chambers of the Legislature, and every single seat on the state Supreme Court."
He has also been posting on X.
We sponsored the anti-crime bills to fix our state and voted for them in committee while your left-wing extremist radical allies voted against punishing criminals — leading to civilians and law enforcement being brutally murdered in our streets, including in my district. Then,… https://t.co/vqBzfrFRrO
— Rep. John Block (@RepBlock) September 10, 2023
It's not merely polls that are keeping the gun ban in the news. As mentioned, Block and Lord have been leading impeachment efforts, calling on members of the state legislature from both parties to sign a certificate calling for an extraordinary session to go through with impeachment. A website has also been launched about the efforts, which tracks how many members have signed.
As of Thursday night, 17 state representatives and senators, all Republicans, have signed a certificate. That number is now at 19 as of Friday afternoon.
As of 8:00 p.m. MT, these lawmakers (17 currently) have signed the MLG impeachment extraordinary session certificate. Thanks so much to all these signers who are proudly upholding their oaths to the Constitution! HISTORY and your constituents will look kindly upon you. pic.twitter.com/aO1P7RXwEJ
— Rep. John Block (@RepBlock) September 22, 2023
Keep updated with every lawmaker who signs the certification petition for @GovMLG’s impeachment here. This is updated at least daily when new signers are identified: https://t.co/ve2HWOsVFN
— Rep. John Block (@RepBlock) September 21, 2023
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