By LKB
So far, two lawsuits have been filed challenging New Mexico Governor Grisham’s wacky executive order suspending the Second Amendment in parts of the state, and I strongly suspect more will be filed today. The complaints and motions for TRO/preliminary injunction (linked in this post) are very short and self explanatory, and I encourage people to read them.
Executive summary of both: Under the Supreme Court’s Bruen decision, categorical bans on public carry are clearly verboten. But that’s exactly what this dimbulb Governor is purporting to do.
Both suits correctly note that the first prong of the Bruen test — does a law restricting public carry affect Second Amendment rights? — was squarely addressed by Bruen, so that’s not even remotely in question. The second prong — government’s burden to prove historical analogues — will fall on New Mexico, but there’s no way they can satisfy it (indeed, SCOTUS disposed of this in Bruen as well).
As such great legal minds such as Ted Lieu and David Hogg have recognized, governors do not have the power to suspend the federal Constitution just because they declare an “emergency.”
As of this morning, the cases haven’t been assigned to judges yet. That’s not unusual, as this is handled by the clerk’s office, based on random assignment, which won’t be open until Monday. There are five active status district judges and one senior status judge in the Albuquerque division. Three are Bush II appointees, two are Biden appointees, and one is a Trump appointee, so the odds of drawing a good judge on at least one of these cases are pretty favorable. (There would be some karma in a case being assigned to Bush II appointee Judge James O. Browning.)
But this matter is so easy that even a Biden appointee is likely to choke on it and issue a TRO. And if somehow they don’t, the 10th Circuit or SCOTUS will certainly do so.
My over/under for issuance of a temporary restraining order blocking enforcement of the carry ban is noon Tuesday. And given the backlash and lack of support from local officials she’s gotten, I won’t be surprised if Grisham reads the room and vacates the order herself before then.
I really wish there wasn’t Eleventh Amendment immunity for punitive damage awards for section 1983 claims against state officials. You can get such awards against local officials but not state officers — for them, all you can get is prospective injunctive / declaratory relief.
If there ever were cases that justified awarding punitive damages for a deliberate, knowing, bad faith violation of constitutional rights, these cases qualify.
LKB is an attorney, a member of the Supreme Court Bar and an occasional TTAG contributor. 

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79 COMMENTS

  1. When even Hogg and Busse are against this move that only leaves folks like Joy Butthair and Whoopiepie in support.

      • The squeaky wheel gets the grease so in this case drama queens blowing smoke in the Gun Control History illiterate governor’s ears clearly got the grease and NM Gun Owners got the shaft. One thing is for certain those marching and holding signs on the behalf of an agenda that centuries of History Confirms is Rooted on Racism and Genocide are as dumb as dirt.

        No Gun Control zealot will ever provide a Gun Control History lesson to anyone who is dumb enough to hold signs begging for Gun Control. And worse most Gun Owners and those representing them will not provide Gun a Control History lesson either.

        Marching on the behalf of Gun Control makes as much sense as marching on the behalf of one of Gun Control’s biggest sidekicks, “mr. noose.” Clueless Hypocrites are the problem, another court case and attorney fees are not going to fix the problem.

        • If there’s anyone who has extensive personal experience in being an actual “drama queens blowing smoke”, it’s deb the dunce, as proven by her upcoming response to me. Show ’em what you got, deb, I’m waiting… 😉

      • Can you believe Ted Dansen had an affair with the Whoopster??? Apparently totaled his marriage. Can’t image that level of incoherent drunken/drugged stupidity.

    • once again targeting…[and blaming]…the wrong people….this sounds a lot like they’re testing the waters…[again]…

  2. Who’s planning on live broadcasting the rally?

    Mountain Time is EST +3, right?

    • I am searching, and coming up empty handed. I guess no one is broadcasting. Youtube doesn’t even have anything, let alone any of the major media.

        • Perhaps, Geoff, but he’s there, and he’s streaming. Anyone who can’t see that the left is against freedom has a screw loose.

        • I listened to a few minutes of his commentary. “Screw both sides. I’m for freedom.” Okay fine, but that isn’t a plan. It sounds like he’s lost in a childish libertarian fantasy.

          Both “sides” do suck, but they are far from equal. The only realistic way forward is to remake one of the two parties in this country. We didn’t get to this point overnight. We’re not going to get out of it overnight either. Now which party would you choose as a starting point? If you have to think longer than one second about that, then you’re a fool. Why are they having this rally? Who are they opposing? Both parties?

  6. You get what you voted for. Enjoy your legal butt sex and drugs. You folks are comfortable slaves. I don’t know if the 1% who care can save the 99% who don’t care.
    They just want the “free stuff” the government is handing out.

    • You really pining for a law against butt sex? Why? Who gives a crap (pun intended).

      Further – Marijuana is about as hard to grow as corn. Corn is 10$/40lbs in Walmart. Marijuana should prolly run about twice that, if it was really LEGAL.

      But it ain’t LEGAL, anywhere in the US.

      • Why do people like you who support legal butt sex, also support replacing the father with a welfare check???
        You like the government in the bedroom. People like you always have. You totally support a single mother with 5 kids from 5 different men and never marrying any of them.

        It’s the legal butt sex crowd that is writing and passing gun control in California. Along with the gun legaliz@tion crowd.

        You would never support a pro second amendment Christian, who has sex in the missionary position with the lights turned out.

        • edit
          Along with the drug legaliz@tion crowd.

          The butt sex and the drug crowd have NEVER supported the Bill of Rights. However they do support pornography. And that is not why the 1st amendment was written. But if you want pornography???
          You can certainly have it.

  7. According to Wikipedia, I know, I know, after the last election a coalition of 10 democrats and 27 Republicans elected a DEMOCRAT Speaker of the House. Do any of you expect anything remotely resembling constitutional actions?

    • There are 45 Democrats and 25 Republicans in the NM House. There was ALWAYS going to be a Democrat speaker.

      In those cases the R’s band together to support the least Communist option. That’s all they can do.

      • Like I asked, Do “you expect anything remotely resembling constitutional actions?” I knew that but was not surprised that so many “republicans” rolled over.

  8. Forgot to add, this is so obviously a dry run to gauge reaction to the planned nationwide suspension of the Constitution that it’s painful to see.The democrat treason is on full display here.

  10. Damn, this is the first time since Farago left that TTAG has been actually worth visiting and relevant. Wish we could always have more relevant news and interesting articles, and a whole lot less simping for Sig and “sponsored posts”.

    • There is plenty of relevant news on TTAG daily.
      However, one must check the site daily in order to stay and remain current of daily events.

    • Dear Ted:

      Farago left. He’s been gone for years now. As far as I know, he hasn’t contributed one peep to the national conversation since his last day here. Which means that HE WAS IN IT FOR BUSINESS REASONS TOO.

      So oh my God, I think you can stop pining for him as some lost saint for firearms or some great priest for the 2A. I give you permission to just get the hell over it. You don’t have to read the articles that “simp for sig”. I don’t. There are not that many of them, but they help pay the bills. Just move the eff on and stop whining. Sheesh. Do you not understand how things get paid for?

      – This post sponsored by the “Winning for Whiners” society. The first day of the rest of your life can be tomorrow. Just stop whining today!

    • little bobby can be found at “the truth about watches” and yes, it’s every bit as scintillatin’ as it sounds. nothing like a good benrus essay.
      and foghorn is reviewing all the wrong bourbons at 31.

  11. Has anyone found a live stream of the open carry rally? I can’t find any. Starts in a half-hour.

  12. :Tin foil moment: It is designed to fail as an appeal to emotion for how the tyranny of rule of law prevents moral government from protecting it’s citizens and how we need to update the law to “current day”™ realities. Or just another trial balloon either way need to address it in court and remove the tool.

  13. Okay, we’ve talked about Grisham. Let’s talk about college football for a minute. If this ain’t a dog on a bone.

    • An English bulldog is to a real bulldog as English gun rights are to American gun rights. I call on the U of GA to ditch the basketcase mascots and get em a REAL dawg.

      I mean does Osceola ride a freaking Shetland? Gimme a break.

    • I can’t even THINK college football when Governors are thinking they can flip the Constitution off and on as if it were a light switch. I can’t just willingly ignore my country like that.

      Besides, this isn’t “The Truth About Football”. Stop your yappin’ and make it happen. You’ll forgive me, I hope, if I don’t join while the country is sinking like the Titanic.

  14. You know guys and gals. We could be looking at Kamala’s VP running mate. Die on the sword for gun control and become a martyr for the Liberal/progressive Cause. She like Kamala is as dense as a post. Yet both of them play well to Liberals and Progressives. Not because of their lack of actually accomplishing anything, but because they are down for the Cause. Causes base on the emotions of their Acolytes. As well as having the media supporting them with both outright lies and simply not covering their failures. Both Liberals and Progressives are easy to understand, once you understand they are controlled by their emotions. A successful ending is far less important than having the emotional connection to the Cause. It becomes an addiction and renderers logic and facts irrelevant. The need to care is the drug, regardless of the Cause and not having that Cause to care about. Would be like not having the drug.

    • The only crazy part of that idea is the Kamala being the presidential candidate part. With that said this governor could be the virtue signaling VP to whoever the superdelegates pick.

      • Make, No Mistake Kamala will run for president. She has the media behind her, her emotionally driven liberal/progressive koolade drinker supporters and the backroom democrat party leadership. No to forget her ego, that all 3 of the previous reasons support her ego. Plus she will be easy as Biden to control by that leadership. Remember: Never underestimate the behavior of large groups of koolade drinkers and the crooked people that control them.

        • I want to call that idea ridiculous but you do have a point. I guess we will see if the DNC gives a damn what the media thinks over it’s own self interest as getting a new puppet is not particularly difficult.

    • Did you see Joe Biden this weekend? He wasn’t just “off” kilter. He was off-planet. I think it’s possible that President Stumblefoot Mumblemouth has already seen his last Christmas and given his last State of the Union. Yeah, he ain’t long for this world. He gonna croak soon.

      Kamala will be coerced to invite Hillary Clinton to be her running mate. And if she wins, she’ll be coerced to resign her office and turn over the presidency to the Clinton Crime Family.

      And suddenly, “Everything different will be the same again.” Except that the Clinton daughter will be Secretary of State, Gavin Newsom will be nominated for the Supreme Court, and AOC will be nominated for Commerce Secretary. We’ll get another 8 years of Fauci, 12 years of Janet Yellen, and Bill Clinton chasing skirts in the Oval Office until he learns that the skirts of today will be “theys, thems, hims, and shims”. It could be a funny country song, except that it will be real.

      If you think it’s nutz now, just wait for January 2025!

      Oh, and you’ll own nothing, and you will like it.

  15. President Biden is the Greatest President America has or ever will have.
    He glides up the stairs like a vampire.
    Ahhh Hell King Biden

  17. The Gov has Ol’ Joe on it’s side (not sure of the pronoun for this one). If you ain’t on the Gov’s side your a one legged dog face pony soldier, no joke.

    • a small request … when you post these seemingly unrelated videos, could you maybe include a cliffs note version of what they’re saying? thanks.

      • Where I wrote “Why the Ruling Elite Is Anti-American” is too much for you to understand and you can’t relate that to the ‘ruling class Anti-American and unconstitutional’ actions by Grisham and the basic highlights of that, already in a cliff notes type version in the video, was too difficult?

        • what you wrote was a copy of the title, not a synopsis. which is already on the video still, so, no new useful info, and still doesn’t say anything as to the actual content or whether it’s relevant or not. (What’s in a name, after all?)
          and re relevance, your video post a few above? what does the Alec Baldwin affair have to do with any of this?

        • oh for cripes sake, get a grip and stop complaining about what you asked for and got.

          “what does the Alec Baldwin affair have to do with any of this?”

          What do you have to do with any of this?

          Alec Baldwin is a liberal anti-gun person. He used a gun to shoot two people then denied pulling (or pressing) the trigger when in reality he did. So maybe he didn’t intend to shoot them, but no matter because he did then lied by ‘terms manipulation’ to claim it went off by its self even though he knew damn well his finger was on the trigger (hypocrisy) and even demonstrated that in talk show interview early on. Plus, he ignored the rules and seized unto himself the power to decide to not follow the rules to have the gun safety checked.

          This tyrant governor also seized unto herself this ‘power’ that is against the ‘rules’ (law and constitution), then lied about it claiming she had the power to do this when she didn’t.

          In short, Alec Baldwin and this tyrant governor both expressed the same lie and hypocrisy and disregard of the ‘rules’ agenda to serve their own interests so common among anti-gun.

          The commonality of lie and hypocrisy and disregard of the ‘rules’ for an agenda so present in anti-gun, that’s what Baldwin has to do with this.

        • Realistically you will not have time to post a tldw for each video but the court case (especially decisions) related ones would be nice as watching most of these videos is a no-go at work. With that said would not ask unless it really looks crazy as I can check back later.

  20. I vote this is trial balloon and they will set a few more up. The elections are coming and they to gin up the leftist party.

  22. as I have said before not all these leftists nut job are anti gun. they are anti others besides them and their ilk having guns

    • LOL no. Subversives must always be contested when they go after civil liberties. Doing better on keeping the trolling short there Jerry actually was better than a lot of Miner posts.

    • @Albert LJ Hall

      1. The order is not law, nor is there any such provision in the US Constituion or the NM constitution or in state or federal law that allows suspension of constitutional rights under a ‘public health emergency’ order by a state governor, nor any such even by the president of the US or congress. The Governor does not have authority to make law nor does she have this authority she seized unconstitutionally and illegally.

      2. The law is being followed by those who oppose this tyrant, the ultimate law of the land which is the Constitition so the law is taking its course.

      why don’t you stay out of discussions for which you have no actual knowledge and go back to living in that modern day version of feudal tyranny in the UK content being an ignorant sheep.

  27. “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.”

    – – John F Kennedy

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