AG ‘will not defend’ Grisham in gun ban challenges

LETTER FROM AG TORREZ
Click here to view Attorney General Raul Torrez’s complete letter to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham in response to her Sept. 8 Emergency Order suspending legal firearm carry in Bernalillo County.

Tuesday, Sept. 12, New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez issued a letter to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham stating his office would not defend her administration against multiple legal challenges to her Sept. 8 Emergency Public Health Order for a 30-day suspension of firearm carry laws in Bernalillo County.

“Simply put, I do not believe that the Emergency Order will have any meaningful impact on public safety but, more importantly, I do not believe it passes constitutional muster,” Torrez wrote in the letter.

Lujan said she issued the order in part due to a spate of gun deaths in the Albuquerque area, specifically against young children. In his letter, Torrez acknowledged those tragedies, describing them as a “wakeup call.”

Torrez continued, “However, I encourage you to engage in a more thoughtful and deliberative process with members of the New Mexico Legislature rather than taking unilateral action that infringes on the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens while having little if any discernible impact on the underlying dynamics driving gun violence in our community.”

In the letter, the attorney general said the attempted reach of the order, in regard to lawful firearm possession, is inconsistent with both the federal and state constitutions.

Torrez said he agreed there needs to be a statewide debate about gun violence and its “devastating impact” on New Mexicans, “especially our children,” but said Grisham’s order “and its flawed legal foundation is likely to obscure, rather than highlight, meaningful solutions.”

Later in the letter, Torrez called it “unwise” to use the definition of “public health emergency” for something he described as “fundamentally a public safety issue.”

He said there is no single solution to the public safety challenges, and New Mexicans must address “multiple issues simultaneously and comprehensively to make meaningful impact. …

“Our collective efforts should thus be engaged in a robust dialogue around each of these issues, building consensus that challenges the status quo and harnessing our once-in-a-generation budget surplus to bring about transformative change.”

He closed saying he was ready to commit his office’s resources to assist the governor in building a safer community “without sacrificing the constitutional rights which we have sworn an oath to preserve, protect and defend.”