We are living in interesting times in the state of New Mexico. Our personal freedoms have been severely restricted under the guise of a COVID emergency. The governor has used the Public Health Emergency Response Act to assume authoritarian power. (Section 12-10A-5 - Declaring a state of public health emergency)

Logical question: Why hasn’t our legislative body restricted the governor’s power? After all, the Public Health Emergency Response Act was designed to handle emergencies. It was never designed to be in place for this length of time or to give the governor the ability to choose winners or losers. How many small businesses in New Mexico will not reopen? How many entrepreneurs have had their dreams crushed?

The citizens of New Mexico are now, in effect, living under a dictatorship. There is absolutely no balance of power in this state. Look at what is happening to duly elected school boards.

Senate Bill 74, which addressed the issue of Public Health Order Termination & Renewal was introduced on Jan. 19. The bill went nowhere because discussion of the bill was defeated 24-14 on a straight party line vote. Why do these progressive, far-left Democrats refuse to debate the bill? Vote on the bill? Have their vote become part of the public record? The logical conclusion is that they like having their governor wielding dictatorial powers. Could it be that this is the way the progressive Democrats, who currently control the state, are going to turn New Mexico into a one-party socialist state?

Quoting from the New Mexico Constitution, Article II, Bill of Rights” Section 1 (Supreme law of the land) “The state of New Mexico is an inseparable part of the federal union, and the Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the land.”

Therefore, the first 10 amendments of the U. S. Constitution are supreme.

Parts of just two of the “Bill of Rights” justify the statement

There is no question that the personal freedoms of New Mexicans have been severely eroded.

Amendment I: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;

Could the argument be made that closing the churches “prohibited the free exercise thereof?” How about limiting the number of people who can worship at one time? 

Or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

In today’s world, who defines “peaceably assembly”? Why is a permit necessary for a peaceable assembly?  How does the average citizen hold unelected bureaucrats accountable? i.e., members of the New Mexico PED leadership.

Amendment IV: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

The key word here is “secure.” Again, this amendment deals with private property rights. A citizen’s home, papers and effects are private property. If the government can enter your home for any reason without a warrant, then the citizen has no place to be secure in their person, papers and effects. Without the right to “Private Property,” you have no real freedoms.

How does New Mexico’s “Red Flag” law affect your right to be “secure” in your home? Does New Mexico have a “castle” law?

It would take a lot more space than available here to analyze what has happened to the “Bill of Rights” If you are interested in seeing more go to citizenstownhall.org and click on Thoughts At Large, starting with the article dated June 7.

It is important to remember that the Constitution was adopted to limit government and free the citizen.

The Bill of Rights simply puts an exclamation to that point!

There is some question which Founding Father gave us this famous quote, however, especially today it requires a lot of careful thought.

“When government fears the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny." 

Tom Vaillancourt is a U.S. Navy Vietnam Veteran. He is a retired small business owner and is married with two children and two grandchildren