Another public official has chosen to resist gubernatorial tyranny in New Mexico.
According to KOAT in Albuquerque, Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen announced Monday that his office would not enforce Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s 30-day executive order suspending citizens’ rights to carry firearms in the county.
“The temporary ban challenges the foundations of our Constitution, but most importantly, it is unconstitutional. My oath was to protect the Constitution, and that is what I will do,” Allen said according to the Washington Examiner.
Lujan Grisham signed the unconstitutional order on Friday, two days after an apparent road-rage incident resulted in the shooting death of 11-year-old Froylan Villegas. The governor framed her insidious edict as a response to a “public health emergency.”
.@BCSONM Sheriff John Allen, a Democrat, is refusing to enforce the New Mexico Governor’s unconstitutional order banning carrying guns in Albuquerque.
pic.twitter.com/ICLAWZ5yW8— Darvio Morrow (@DTheKingpin) September 11, 2023
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Allen noted that the governor’s ban, even if enforced, would not have the intended effect.
“This order will not do anything to curb gun violence other than punish law-abiding citizens from their constitutional right of self-defense,” Allen said according to KOAT.
Other public officials have taken a similar position.
“As an officer of the court, I cannot and will not enforce something that is clearly unconstitutional,” Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman told the Examiner. “This office will continue to focus on criminals of any age that use guns in the commission of a crime.”
Would you defy this order?
Yes: 100% (4 Votes)
No: 0% (0 Votes)
Bregman joined Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller and Police Chief Harold Medina in refusing to overturn the Second Amendment.
On Sunday, more than 100 people rallied peacefully in Albuquerque, many of them carrying weapons in defiance of the order. State police apparently issued no citations.
Meanwhile, two Republican state lawmakers already have called for Lujan Grisham’s impeachment.
Lujan Grisham’s King George the Third-like edict has brought out the best in some of New Mexico’s public officials.
For anyone who regards such American Revolution-era comparisons as hyperbole, recall that British troops marched into Lexington and Concord for the sole purpose of seizing colonists’ weapons.
Jaded souls might complain that county and state officials everywhere should have taken this stand three years ago. They should have. But they have taken it now, and better late than never.
New Mexico’s defiance at least confirms that lines in the sand still exist. Some public officials will stand up and refuse to trample citizens’ liberties on the mere pretense of following orders.
Thus, as a practical matter, the 30-day suspension of gun rights has no meaning. Much like the Stamp Act of 1765, no one in power will enforce it.
Nonetheless, Lujan Grisham’s brazen attempt to subjugate the people of New Mexico remains an ominous portent. The “public health emergency” excuse will not work with respect to guns, but it has worked in the recent past. Not long ago it deprived people of all their First Amendment rights.
May this latest act of tyranny remind us that the Second Amendment exists because of governors like Lujan Grisham.
