Governor bans carrying guns in Albuquerque after 11-year-old killed

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Friday announced a new public health order that, she said, will prohibit people from carrying firearms, either open or concealed, in Albuquerque and throughout Bernalillo County for the next 30 days, regardless of whether they have a permit.

Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, issued an executive order Thursday evening declaring gun violence a public health emergency.

During a news conference Friday, she said she expects legal challenges to the new public health order and expressed uncertainty about whether the order would prevail in court.

The order currently applies only to the city of Albuquerque and Bernalillo County, Lujan Grisham said, and can only be enforced not by local authorities but by New Mexico State Police, whose presence in the state's largest city would be "Significant" over the next month.

Violating the order would likely be a misdemeanor, Lujan Grisham said, and it will not apply to private property or at a licensed gun dealer or shooting range.

Lujan Grisham's order also calls upon the state Department of Health to compile and issue "a comprehensive report on gunshot victims presenting at hospitals in New Mexico.”

Lujan Grisham said the order was, in part, to spur a "Strong debate" about how to properly address gun violence, remarking people should be horrified "That so many young people and so many individuals with no training and reckless, criminal behavior are openly carrying firearms in our community.”

"The governor made it clear that state law enforcement, and not APD, will be responsible for enforcement of civil violations of the order," Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina said in a message to his officers Friday night.

Conservatives immediately criticized Lujan Grisham, calling the order a violation of the state and U.S. constitutions.

Albuquerque City Councilor Dan Lewis called on the governor to rescind the order, saying in a statement that it would make Albuquerque more dangerous.

"If the governor does not rescind this order, I'm calling on law enforcement to follow the constitution and not unconstitutional edicts from a wannabe dictator," Lewis said in a statement Friday.

"A child is murdered, the perpetrator is still on the loose, and what does the governor do? She throws the mayor of Albuquerque under the bus and then targets law-abiding citizens with an unconstitutional gun order," Baca said Friday evening.