Gun owners staged a defiant protest of the suspension of open and concealed carry laws by New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham – a Democrat.
On Sunday afternoon, dozens of gun rights activists gathered in Old Town Albuquerque to voice their displeasure with Gov Grisham’s 30-day suspension of open and concealed carry laws that went into effect in the city of Albuquerque and Bernalillo County. Many of the protestors openly displayed their firearms in a deliberate defiance of Grisham’s decree.
Protesters proudly displayed American, Gadsden, and “Come and Take It” flags. A man was holding a sign addressed to Grisham that read: “Our founding fathers warned us about you.” A woman was holding a sign that stated: “Gun rights are women’s rights.”
A demonstrator proclaimed, “This will not stand. We will not comply!”
A woman identifying as an indigenous person told the crowd, “The law doesn’t protect us!”
Another woman said, “Our rights come from God, and our privileges come from government.”
Ford Fischer – editor-in-chief of News2Share – posted video from the protest on YouTube.
“One speaker at the armed rally in Albuquerque defying the gun carrying ban told the crowd that they need to go out and do this every day, or else it wouldn’t have an impact,” Fischer wrote.
“While the police didn’t enforce the order, it includes a $5000 fine for violators,” he added.
There was one anti-gun demonstrator wearing a face mask, but the gun activists gave him a chance to speak and then attempted to refute his claims.
New Mexico gun owners defy executive order banning open and concealed carry in Albuquerquewww.youtube.com
Grisham is attempting to justify the suspension of gun rights by declaring a public health emergency based on recent gun violence.
On Saturday, the National Association for Gun Rights filed a lawsuit against Grisham and New Mexico Department of Health Secretary Patrick Allen over the emergency public health order suspending gun rights.
The lawsuit, filed in the US district court for New Mexico, asserts that the governor’s order violates the Second Amendment.
“The State must justify the Carry Prohibition by demonstrating that it is consistent with the Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation. But it is impossible for the State to meet this burden, because there is no such historical tradition of firearms regulation in this Nation,” the lawsuit states.
According to CNN, “Throughout the suit, the plaintiffs cite a 2022 Supreme Court decision that struck down a New York gun law that restricted the right to concealed carry outside the home.”
Also on Saturday, another lawsuit was filed to block the temporary health order banning openly carrying guns in public spaces. The lawsuit compares the suspension of open and concealed carry laws to “martial law,” and maintains that it violates constitutional rights.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ripped the so-called emergency public health order, and said Grisham is weaponizing the order to “infringe on Second Amendment rights by executive fiat.”
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