Opponents Prepping Court Challenges, Impeachment After Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham Imposes ‘Emergency’ Carry Ban

By
Dan Zimmerman
-
68

Yesterday the Governor of New Mexico announced an unprecedented ban on both open and concealed carry in Bernalillo County which includes the city of Albuquerque. Clearly aware of the unconstitutional nature of her order, particularly after the Supreme Court’s Bruen decision, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham said . . .

I welcome the debate and fight about how to make New Mexicans safer.

She’s about to get that fight. Grisham knew full well that what she’s doing is blatantly unconstitutional and won’t stand up to a court challenge. She just doesn’t care. And she apparently doesn’t see any significant political consequences coming her way as a result.

As Charles C.W. Cooke wrote . . .

If our elected officials were allowed to shelve our unalienable rights every time they believed that those rights were being abused by outlaws, then they wouldn’t be unalienable rights; they’d be privileges. Lujan Grisham knows this — which is why she has said not only that she has “warned everyone that we expect a direct challenge,” but that the arrival of such a challenge is “the way it should work.” Those are the words of a person who knows she is breaking the law but has resolved to do it anyway. 

As the tweet at the top makes clear, members in the New Mexico House have already begun to explore impeachment options. While that would be abundantly satisfying, impeachment is a long shot at best.

Meanwhile, a number of local and national gun rights organizations are preparing challenges to the ban and will file for injunctions to block Grisham’s ban within days, if not hours.

KOAT quoted Zachary Fort of the New Mexico Shooting Sports Association who said his organization is preparing a legal challenge . . .

“What the governor tried to do flies directly in the face of the (New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen) decision by the Supreme Court, where they found that you have a constitutionally protected right to carry a firearm outside your own home,” Fort said. “The Supreme Court said that very clearly in their Bruen decision. So, it’s clearly contradictory to that.”

TTAG spoke with with representatives of both the Second Amendment Foundation and the National Association for Gun Rights this morning. Both are spinning up their own challenges as well and plan to file for injunctions to block enforcement of the ban as soon as their legal ducks can be put in a row. Other gun rights orgs will likely also be involved as well.

Grisham’s power-grab — declaring that guns are a “pubic health emergency” and then using that pretense to suspend the exercise of an enumerated civil right — should be the kind of bridge-too-far blunder that ends a political career. In the old days (ten or more years ago) that might have been the case.

Now, however, this kind of bold-faced authoritarianism in the service of civilian disarmament is the kind of thing that will make her a celebrity on the far left, cheered on by the media.

That said, it’s more than interesting that as of this writing, none of the big three Gun Control Industry operations — Brady, Everytown, and Giffords — have said a word about Grisham’s move publicly. Not one of them. Deafening silence. Even Shannon Watts has kept her prodigious yap shut on the subject so far.

Ryan Busse, one of the most avid, attention-whoring sock puppets on the Gun Control Industry payroll, tweeted this within the last hour.

Hey, even a stopped clock is right twice a day. Busse may be a sniveling, gun-grabbing simp, but he’s smart enough to recognize a bad legal and political move when he sees one.

Make no mistake, everyone involved at all three gun control operations is, behind closed doors, thrilled by what Grisham’s done and would dearly love to see it repeated in other anti-gun states. But they also recognize dangerous overreach and a potential PR disaster when they see it. That’s what Grisham did yesterday. The only question left is how big a political price she will pay as a result.

 

 

 

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68 COMMENTS

  1. When the people fear the Government there is tyranny. Where the Government fears the people, there is freedom. It is time to make her fear the people.

    • Bernalillo County and the city of Albuquerque comprise 1/4 of the population of New Mexico. This is a trial run for Slow Joe.

    • Careful, the FBI has been known to murder people in the early morning hours in no-knock raids when they say such innocuous things.

        • The Maker of Heaven and Earth, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is the only One we should fear. Those who by faith submit to the Son have that fear turned into reverent awe, and great joy. Those who have been born again to a new and living Hope need not tremble before wicked men (or women).

  3. What next for the fascist left? The Gov of Ill going to bring back slavery on his own authority to curb violence in Chicago?

    We are way past time for Nuremberg 2.0.

  6. “I welcome the debate and fight about how to make New Mexicans safer.”

    How about that boarder, how’s that going? I’m curious about the level of cartel activity in the state and their ties to state officials through illicit money/graft. Just say’in.

  7. Inside every cloud is a silver lining. Jonathan Turley explains:

    …Many will of course celebrate the boldness of Grisham in taking away an individual right under a cleaver measure. It is, however, too cleaver by half. If not found moot at the end of the period, New Mexico could supply a vehicle to curtail future public health rationales.

    — Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) September 9, 2023

    Now, did he really mean “cleaver,” as in the governor’s measure is a hack job?

    I think he meant “clever.” Yes, the error is in the original tweet.

  8. How stupid can she be!
    She just made the entire Bernalillo County a soft target.

    And, like another commenter said, New Mexico can’t get their act together to deal with A Baldwin, but punishing innocent good citizens to the point of risking their lives via this overreach is not a problem.

    • We need to stop thinking these people naĂŻvely have our best interest in mind, and ask who benefits the most from disarming legal owners and carriers. Criminals, that’s who. Criminals come in many forms, corrupt politicians with bad intents, gangs and cartels, human smugglers, etc, etc. Nothing in .gov happens by accident, this is all by intent. This might also be latest test case for this kind of public health dictate, 30 days to flatten the curve nonsense.

  9. “The only question left is how big a political price she will pay as a result.” She probably will not be removed from office in a commiecrat control state. She will be rewarded with a bigger office position in the future by a Democratic cabinet position or agency head position if Biden or someone else like him wins in 2024. She had the balls to do what the other commiecrat governors have been threatening to do during and after the Wuhan virus by calling the 2nd Amendment a “Public Health Emergency”. The 10 Circuit Court is not that friendly to the 2nd Amendment with the appointed justices in place. Will they follow the Supreme Court’s Bruen decision is up in the air right now.

    • That doesn’t meet any value of civil rights. If a criminal act negates the rights of others, then there are no rights.

  11. Would getting arrested (for those who can stomach it) be a valid way to make her pay? Apparently LEO’s lose qualified immunity if they know what they are doing is unconstitutional, does the same hold true for governor’s? Piercing that veil and going for her directly would seem a very, very good precedent.

  13. “a ‘pubic health emergency’”

    So now they’re blaming guns for VD? Will they stop at nothing?!

  15. Why would she experience political ramifications? To her constituents the people complaining are the enemy and her actions is a bold, brave and heroic gesture in the face of evil, racist child-killers.

    She’s a hero to her peeps. If impeached, a martyr.

    • It wont matter if a future Republican DOJ has her charged with Deprivation of Rights which would easily fit this. Shes playing with fire here and has opened herself up to all kinds of legal exposure.

  17. A future Republican DOJ needs to charge her with deprivation of rights and have her thrown in prison. She has no idea the kind of exposure she just opened herself up to legally. Oh and this EO isn’t worth the paper its written on. Violating it is only a fine and a civil penalty. Everyone should flat out ignore and tear up any citation issued under it.

    • The same ones who enforced her (equally illegal and unconstitutional) Covid lockdown orders, probably. So all of them

  20. You asked: “The only question left is how big a political price she will pay as a result.” The answer is: none. Democrat traitors NEVER suffer for their crimes.

  22. Purely hypothetically, if the national guard or a large enough police / sheriffs department were to walk in there to arrest her for treason, violating the constitution and her oath to uphold it, and 18 U.S. Code § 241 – Conspiracy against rights as well as 18 U.S. Code § 242 – Deprivation of rights under color of law – what would happen? Could/would the DA or a federal DA file those charges? Given that these laws and charges directly apply to people in office, is she immune and has to be impeached first or is the arrest directly enforceable?

  23. Brilliant move: limiting the declaration to 30 days. Nothing of consequence can be done to end the “emergency declaration” in less than 30 days.

    Were it possible to get a complete, permanent injunction, the “emergency” can be used over and over, without personal or political risk. Limiting the “emergence order” is a victory, both ways.

  24. The only thing that frightens a politician is a crowd showing up and encouraging people to vote against them. And having 25,000 peaceful open carriers at the NM state capital. That is what will terrify them.

    And a hand full of Lawyers don’t scare any politician.

    And its not just New Mexico. The other red communist state leaders are watching this. The “gun community” reaction will determine whether this spreads or it does not.

      • Try coming up with a different line, dumbass.
        You’re a big talker, go take her out…..

        • Re: Response to Darkman:
          “Try coming up with a different line, dumbass.”

          True is true; maybe difficult to accept, but true nonetheless.

          If “we” (patriots) cannot “sell” our values successfully, then “we” always get the tyranny we allow. This is what Dr. Franklin meant by, “If you can keep it”.

        •  to All Talk, No Action
          Thousands of peaceful protesters, in the 1950s and 1960s, changed the United States for the better. And they didn’t kill anyone.
          And many of those protesters carried guns.

    • to Sam I Am
      The only way to keep our Republic is to vote in every election. Write in a candidate if you want to. And stay engaged in attending meetings.
      That is the work that Franklin was referring to. You need to work at keeping a Republic.

      Freedom is not free.

      • “You need to work at keeping a Republic.”

        Yes, and all our efforts spawned the Uniparty, led by Dims. “We” are simply outnumbered, everywhere that counts. “We” have decided our own fate.

        For all too many voters, “free” means lack of restraint, and a Santa Claus government.

        I was in college in the 60s; “we” saw the worm turn.

        • to Sam I Am
          Look you can just walk into that gas chamber without complaining. It seems they’re are many compliant slaves out there.
          We are down to those who are willing to fight. And those who don’t want to fight.

          More than Half the country is willing to fight back. With 26 CCW permitless carry states. Perhaps we need to except the fact, that a large portion of the citizenry is comfortable with being well cared for slaves.

    • If you think you can get 25K people to rally in Santa Fe for this, you’re smoking and snorting better shit than the people in Santa Fe are.

      • You’re probably correct. So why should I care about gun owners, who are lazy and refuse to stand up for themselves???

        Do these atheists think their civil rights will be magically returned to them, by some invisible being who walks on water???

        They seem to believe they don’t have to work to keep their civil rights.

        • It’s not really that they’re lazy.

          It’s that what you ask borders on physically impossible.

          Ignoring the fact that, outside Santa Fe and Rio Rancho, NM is mostly dirt poor, you basically can’t get 25K people into downtown Santa Fe in a realistic manner and you certainly can’t do it near the Capitol Building.

          Honestly, I’m not sure you can do it at all. If you can, it will take a full day to get them out. Any medical emergencies would be a death sentence.

          Santa Fe is one of the oldest cities on this continent, continuously inhabited since 1610, founded in 1607. Roanoke was established in 1585, for comparison and St. Augustine was founded in 1565. The roads were originally built for horses and the occasional wagon. There’s very little parking, nearly no straight roads and the roads are narrow AF.

          The roads and facilities will not handle that kind gathering, probably at all in that area of town, but certainly not without months of prep work and city permits (which you’re not going to get for this 2A protest, btw). There’s also nowhere realistically close to park and bus people in either.

          Zozobra, good ol’ Old Man Gloom, gets 60K attendees.

          Well, that’s what’s claimed. Also, that’s a total over a week for Fiestas (Friday to Friday), not Zozo itself. Oh, and most of the people there are locals. You don’t get a huge number of visitors attending that event because you can’t.

          And when you’re talking 10K people a day, shit doesn’t move AT ALL. Everything’s a traffic jam. If you need to be to work I hope you have a motorcycle or you’re not working. And that’s with extra special bus service running around the clock and a month of prep city-wide.

  26. “If you are in New Mexico and want to be a plaintiff, lawyers are prepared to put an end to this unconstitutional bunk. DM me to discuss. https://t.co/bmSBwrvZyv

    — Marc J. Randazza 🇺🇸 🇮🇹 🇧🇷 🇮🇸 🇸🇪 (@marcorandazza) September 9, 2023″

    The court houses in NM on Monday morning are going to be busy.

    • Unless they file in Federal Court, nothing will be busy on Monday.

      Part of this game is to play off the fact that in State court there’s a close to 0.0% probability a judge will hear word #1 about this before it expires.

  27. I have a weapon for one reason:
    1. Self protection (aka protection from a tyrannical government.)

    Today, I’m moving to Bernalillo County New Mexico.
    I have no guns – just my trusty rusty sharpened e-tool & well worn K-Bar. Plus my Louisville Slugger in the trunk of my gas powered car.

    FYI – my SO (significant other) will have the M-60. She is an expert at covering fire, plunging fire, grazing fire, flanking/frontal/oblique/enfilade fires. She is also proficient at fixed, traversing, searching, and traversing and searching, and free-gun fires. Point and area targets are her specialty. She is an expert at different targets such as point, area, linear, deep and linear target with depth, especially during periods of limited visibility. Her fire control is something to see to believe. I’ve never seen someone better at drawing a range card.

    Come and take it Michelle O’bell.

    • And here I thought that you had a terrible swift sword that loosed fateful lightning.

      You’ve “upgraded” to crew-served full automatics?

  28. Impeach, convict, and then face Federal prosecution for civil rights violations under Title 18, U.S.C., Section 242 – Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law.

  30. @Chris T in KY
    “More than Half the country is willing to fight back. With 26 CCW permitless carry states.”

    Owning a gun does not make one armed, trained, prepared, committed to revolution. The so-called “constitutional carry” states are there by tenuous legislation, not as a result of the Second Amendment. This isn’t 1775, or 1861. Look around you, not in your blogs and forums. The US is in irreversible political decline; this is how empires die.

  31. @strych9 September
    “Operationally define “collapse” before this goes further.”

    A range of dysfunction, resulting, eventually, to absolute tyranny, or rampant lawlessness, and defiance of the social contract of how a society relates to its controlling influences. Regardless, no empire has escaped the seven phases, or restored itself to a prior status, and sustained itself, preventing devolvement/devolution into a greater decline of an empire.

    Empires either disappear altogether, or revert to phase one, with different defining characteristics, but not a re-establishment of its original principles.

  33. When you give a moron power, they do not rise to accept the mantle of authority and wield it with care and thought, but instead become powerful morons. The idiocy of disarming the innocent in the face of increased criminal activity is infantile.

  34. “Lujan Grisham knows this — which is why she has said not only that she has “warned everyone that we expect a direct challenge,” but that the arrival of such a challenge is “the way it should work.” Those are the words of a person who knows she is breaking the law but has resolved to do it anyway.”

    Well, we now know who Biden’s unacknowledged “DAUGHTER” is…

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