New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, issued an emergency public health order on Friday, temporarily suspending both open and concealed carry of firearms in Albuquerque, the state’s largest city, for a duration of 30 days.
Now she’s being threatened with impeachment over her suspension of constitutional rights in the state.
The decision by the Democratic governor was prompted by the recent tragic killing of an 11-year-old boy in a road rage incident involving gun violence. Governor Grisham cited this incident as the basis for declaring the emergency, acknowledging that she anticipates legal challenges but stating her belief that action was necessary due to the escalating gun-related crimes in the city.
In addition to the order, Lujan Grisham penned a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, seeking federal assistance. The governor disclosed that she had been requesting federal aid since June 2022, emphasizing the need for federal resources to combat the “escalating violence and drug and human-trafficking activity that is ravaging our great state,” she said.
“The nature and volume of these crimes require focused attention from the federal government,” Grisham said at a press conference flanked by law enforcement officials.
Governor Lujan Grisham says her duty to uphold her oath to the constitution is “not absolute” pic.twitter.com/Mla4rcNXMX
— Beau Hightower (@beauhightowerdn) September 8, 2023
The New Mexico Governor then claimed that her duty to uphold her constitutional oath is “not absolute.”
“No constitutional right, in my view, including my oath, is intended to be absolute,” she claimed, pointing to restrictions on “free speech.”
Grisham was immediately met with ferocious backlash from the American right.
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
“The Governor of New Mexico has just declared the 1st & 2nd Amendment ‘does not exist’ due to an ’emergency’,” podcast host Benny Johnson remarked. “Under this legal theory *all* of our “rights” are essentially eliminated. Watch the most evil & tyrannical 60 seconds you’ve ever heard from a politician.”
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
“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 asked.
“The governor of New Mexico is using a public health order to suspend a right guaranteed by the US Constitution. Yes, a public health order,” Ron DeSantis Press Secretary Jeremy Redfern said. “Did you think the left was going to stop at just forcing you to wear a mask?”
The governor of New Mexico is using a public health order to suspend a right guaranteed by the US Constitution.
Yes, a public health order.
Did you think the left was going to stop at just forcing you to wear a mask? https://t.co/dxdIeb2Kia
— Jeremy Redfern (@JeremyRedfernFL) September 9, 2023
“The order, in my view, is flagrantly unconstitutional under existing Second Amendment precedent,” legal scholar Jonathan Turley wrote.
The order, in my view, is flagrantly unconstitutional under existing Second Amendment precedent. It could also be a calculated effort to evade a ruling by making the period of suspension so short…https://t.co/aURAa8Ict9
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) September 9, 2023
But then the reaction to Grisham’s remarks got a bit weird. Radical left gun control enthusiasts began speaking out against it.
David Hogg, a Parkland school shooting survivor and gun control activist, stated his disagreement.
“I support gun safety but there is no such thing as a state public health emergency exception to the U.S. Constitution,” Hogg said on X.
California Dem. Congressman Ted Lieu made almost the exact same statement.
“I support gun safety laws,” Lieu remarked. “However, this order from the Governor of New Mexico violates the U.S. Constitution. 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.”
Congressman Lieu must have missed the Covid pandemic response.
“If this is not definitive proof [Grisham] has gone too far, no such proof can ever exist,” attorney and podcaster Viva Frei noted.
If this is not definitive proof @GovMLG has gone too far, no such proof can ever exist.
And David, I hope you appreciate that this correct observation applies not only to this egregious overreach, but to the government Covid response as a whole.
The government’s thirst for…
— Viva Frei (@thevivafrei) September 9, 2023
“And David, I hope you appreciate that this correct observation applies not only to this egregious overreach, but to the government Covid response as a whole,” he added. “The government’s thirst for total control is not limited to any one specific Amendment.”
But there were others who didn’t trust the counter-messaging.
“DNC must have sent out the memo to release the ‘I SUPPORT GUN SAFETY BUT…..’ tweets,” one user remarked.
One commentator, T.J. Moe of The Blaze, argued these gun control activists have ulterior motives for speaking out against Grisham’s unconstitutional order.
This is a Psy op. They set this up so that guys like Ted Lieu and David Hogg, the most insane leftists, could march out and appear to be reasonable and in favor of upholding the constitution. They are not. Don’t fall for the psy op. These people are not reasonable or your friend
— T.J. Moe (@TJMoe28) September 9, 2023
“This is a Psy op,” he claimed, referring to the slang for ‘Pschological Operation’. “They set this up so that guys like Ted Lieu and David Hogg, the most insane leftists, could march out and appear to be reasonable and in favor of upholding the constitution. They are not. Don’t fall for the psy op. These people are not reasonable or your friend.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom, a potential 2024 candidate, may have given the game away with a subsequent tweet.
When people ask why I am introducing a Constitutional Amendment on gun safety this is why.
Not only has Congress stalled for YEARS on passing common sense reforms — judges across the country are tearing down laws that Americans overwhelmingly support. Laws that keep us SAFE and…
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) September 9, 2023
“When people ask why I am introducing a Constitutional Amendment on gun safety this is why,” he said, referring to a court decision adverse to the state’s ban on concealed carry firearms.
“Not only has Congress stalled for YEARS on passing common sense reforms — judges across the country are tearing down laws that Americans overwhelmingly support,” he claimed. “Laws that keep us SAFE and keep guns out of the hands of dangerous criminals.”
Newsom, however, is being dishonest: Criminals don’t follow gun-control laws and such laws disarm law-abiding citizens and criminals. That is precisely why Governor Grisham’s order will almost certainly be found unconstitutional.
Now New Mexico State Representatives Stefani Lord and John Block are calling for the Impeachment of New Mexico Governor Michelle Grisham.
BREAKING NEWS: New Mexico State Representatives Stefani Lord and John Block are calling for the Impeachment of New Mexico Governor Michelle Grisham after her EO that violates the 2nd Amendment rights of citizens.
In the letter they state “I have a newsflash for the Governor:… pic.twitter.com/AF8CFR8br7
— ??Travis?? (@Travis_in_Flint) September 9, 2023
“I am calling on counsel to begin the impeachment process against Governor Grisham,” said Rep. Stefani Lord. “This is an abhorrent attempt at imposing a radical, progressive agenda on an unwilling propulous.”
