Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is abusing New Mexico’s public health laws by declaring a “mass shooting health emergency” and has decided that the right to conceal- or open-carry a firearm for one’s own self-defense is what’s causing a crime wave to sweep Bernalillo County and the City of Albuquerque. Yes, she is attempting to suspend the Second Amendment via an executive order. In so doing, she has crossed the political, legal, and constitutional Rubicon and the end result will be to turn this part of New Mexico into a free-for-all crime zone.
As common sense tells us, what encourages crime is lax enforcement of the law, not draconian enforcement of unconstitutional edicts upon law-abiding citizens. The revolving door criminal justice system to which Gov. Lujan Grisham and her political ilk have subjected the residents of New Mexico has touched off a crime wave that has decent people seeking to protect themselves and their loved ones.
Disarming the residents of Bernalillo County will not make them safer. It will make them victims.
Criminals are criminals because they break the law. They don’t complete ATF screening forms, submit themselves to background checks and waiting periods, and then abide by posted signage that says a certain location is a gun-free zone. No, they break the law by committing wanton acts of violence. They steal, rob, rape, and murder. These acts are already illegal. Clearly, the governor’s executive order will be meaningless to those who perpetrate these crimes.
But, crime is not what Gov. Lujan Grisham really cares about. She simply wants to push her anti-freedom agenda and disarm the good people of Bernalillo County. (RELATED: JOHN STOSSEL: Personal Choice Beats Government Control Every Time)
Her goals are no different from those of the Southern ex-Confederates who formed the KKK and disarmed freed Black Americans to continue to promote a system of bigotry. Her aims are those of corrupt Northerners who pushed gun control to keep Irish and Italian immigrants from being able to defend themselves from corrupt party bosses and city officials who preyed on them for “protection.” She wants to disarm the people and make them subservient to her political machinations.
At Gun Owners of America, a number of our staff are proud former law enforcement officers. They understand that they swore to uphold and protect the rights of their fellow citizens. The same is true for officers currently serving in New Mexico. They know that the United States Supreme Court has made clear that the right to keep and bear arms applies both inside and outside one’s home.
But, Gov. Lujan Grisham does not care that police have the duty to disobey illegal orders as part of their oaths. Similar to dictators in tyrannical regimes, she expects the rank and file police to just do her bidding. Luckily, some wearing the badge understand this. Local Sheriff John Allen noted that, “This order will not do anything to curb gun violence other than punish law-abiding citizens from their constitutional right of self-defense.” Albuquerque’s Police Chief, Harold Medina, said simply he won’t enforce the order. Now, even the Democrat Attorney General has announced he will not enforce this ban, stating bluntly “I do not believe it passes constitutional muster.” (RELATED: JAMES CRAIG: This Ex-Police Chief Knows Real Leadership. It Looks Like Donald Trump)
Despite this, the Governor’s actions still place the residents and visitors of Bernalillo County at extreme risk. While some law enforcement officials have declared they will not enforce her illegal order, the risk still exists for a patriotic American to wind up at the end of an officer’s muzzle if they are willing to enforce this unconstitutional edict. Gov. Lujan Grisham will have officers on the streets under the mistaken belief that anyone in public with a firearm is a criminal.
Far from addressing a crime emergency, the governor has created one with her soft-on-crime policies. Now she seeks to exploit that to pursue her anti-freedom agenda. Her actions will disarm the residents and visitors of Bernalillo County and turn it into a free-for-all crime zone in which the law-abiding public will be made victims. Most dangerously, innocent people could very well be gunned down by police who believe the law-abiding are the criminals. All this while, without even a touch of shame, Gov. Lujan Grisham is protected by taxpayer-funded armed guards. We the people must push back.
Tim Macy serves as the Chairman of Gun Owners of America, a non-profit “no-compromise” grassroots lobbying organization boasting over two million members. His organization has filed suit against the order discussed in this piece.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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