New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham announced that she will not renew a public health order that temporarily banned carrying firearms in public parks and playgrounds in Albuquerque. The order went into effect in September 2023 as an effort to decrease gun violence in the metro area. However, it received backlash from high-ranking state officials, gun advocates, and members of her own Democratic Party who viewed it as a violation of Second Amendment rights. National gun rights and advocacy groups filed lawsuits against the order, leading Lujan Grisham to amend it to only apply to parks and playgrounds in Albuquerque.
The governor stated that over 1,700 firearms were collected in gun buybacks over the past year as a result of the order, with a reduction in gunfire incidents in the area. Despite the perceived positive impact on public safety, Lujan Grisham did not provide specific statistics to support these claims. State Senate Republican leader Greg Baca expressed his opposition to the order, calling it unconstitutional and ineffective in addressing the crime epidemic in the state. The National Association for Gun Rights also filed a lawsuit against the ban, which was ultimately dismissed after Lujan Grisham revised the policy.
Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen, a Democrat, did not enforce the ban believing it to be unconstitutional and ineffective in reducing gun violence. Allen expressed his concerns about the order punishing law-abiding citizens and infringing on their constitutional right to self-defense. The temporary order was initially issued after an 11-year-old boy was shot and killed in an Albuquerque park. In addition to the ban on firearms in public parks and playgrounds, the order included stricter oversight of firearm sales and the implementation of wastewater testing for fentanyl in public schools.
State Attorney General Raúl Torrez, also a Democrat, opposed Lujan Grisham’s decision regarding the temporary ban on carrying firearms in public parks and playgrounds. Torrez raised concerns about the constitutionality of the order and its potential impact on law-abiding citizens’ rights. Governor Lujan Grisham defended her actions, stating that the public health order allowed for the implementation of urgent measures to enhance public safety in the state. Ultimately, the decision not to renew the order marks a significant shift in the state’s approach to addressing gun violence and Second Amendment rights.
