Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM) issued a 30-day ban on the right to carry firearms in public across Albuquerque and the surrounding county following a string of recent gun violence.
People with concealed carry permits may still transport guns to some private locations, such as a gun range or gun store, if the firearm has a trigger lock or mechanisms that prevent it from being discharged. However, those who do not abide by the restrictions could face a fine of up to $5,000, according to Caroline Sweeney, spokesperson for Lujan Grisham via the Associated Press.
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The Democratic governor said the restrictions “are going to pose incredible challenges for me as a governor and as a state.
“I welcome the debate and fight about how to make New Mexicans safer,” she said Friday at a news conference.
Lujan Grisham said she is expecting legal challenges to her ban but felt compelled to act given the recent shooting deaths of minors.
Froyland Villegas, an 11-year-old boy, was shot and killed outside of Isotopes Park, a minor league baseball stadium, on Wednesday night. A child was killed after four teens opened fire at a trailer park, striking five-year-old Galilea Samaniego in the head. A 14-year-old boy shot and killed 13-year-old Amber Archuleta using his father’s gun.
Republican state Sen. Greg Baca, the top-ranked GOP senator, blasted Lujan Grisham’s 30-day ban.
“A child is murdered, the perpetrator is still on the loose, and what does the governor do? She … targets law-abiding citizens with an unconstitutional gun order,” Baca said, according to the Associated Press.
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This is not the first time Lujan Grisham has taken steps to combat gun violence. Since 2019, the governor has signed legislation restricting access to guns, including a “red flag” law in 2020 that allows law enforcement to ask a court to temporarily take away firearms from people deemed a danger to themselves or others.
The “red flag” law also extended background checks to nearly all private gun sales and banned those under permanent protective orders for domestic violence from possessing firearms.
