Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico scaled back a temporary public health order restricting the carrying of firearms in the Albuquerque metro area, limiting a ban to parks and playgrounds. The initial ban, which was issued Sept. 8 and was to have lasted 30 days, had prohibited the carrying of open and concealed firearms in public areas or on state property. Several individuals and groups had sued to block Lujan Grisham’s original order, and a federal judge sided with the plaintiffs, who argued that the suspension of gun rights violated the Constitution.U.S. District Judge David Urias granted a temporary restraining order blocking the governor’s suspension. The governor’s most recent executive order essentially replaces the blocked one, reports the New York Times.
The governor’s initial ban was met with pushback from Republicans and fellow Democrats alike. Two Republican state representatives, Stefani Lord and John Block, called for Lujan Grisham to be impeached, saying that she had violated her oath to New Mexico and the nation. New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez, a Democrat, said he did not believe that the ban “will have any meaningful impact on public safety” and that his office would not defend the governor in cases that challenged the order. "I encourage you to engage in a more thoughtful and deliberative process with members of the New Mexico Legislature," Torrez wrote. Lord still took issue with the amended order, writing on the platform X, that the governor is “still pushing the limits of the Second Amendment.”