New Mexico Republican Reps. Stefani Lord and John Block called for the impeachment of New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham over the governor’s controversial temporary ban on firearms in the Albuquerque area. Lord said specifically that the governor’s public health declaration goes against New Mexicans' Second Amendment rights.
"I am calling on counsel to begin the impeachment process against Governor Grisham," Lord wrote. "This is an abhorrent attempt at imposing a radical, progressive agenda on an unwilling populous. Rather than addressing crime at its core, Gov. Grisham is restricting the rights of law-abiding gun owners."
In the press release, Lord said that the governor’s emergency order is “illegal in nature.” She also stated that this order would just harm regular New Mexican citizens, as, according to Lord, they wouldn’t be able to defend themselves against violent crime.
Grisham announced the order to put a 30-day ban on the open and concealed carry of firearms on Sept. 8 in counties that meet a threshold of violent crime, which only Albuquerque and Bernalillo County did, The Hill reported.
The governor said that she felt compelled to act after three recent shooting deaths of children and two mass shootings in New Mexico in May. The most recent of the shooting deaths, of 11-year-old Froylan Villegas, was the likely instigation of the ban, according to ABC News.
Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen has said that he will not enforce the ban, AP News reported.
It appears that the ban will be enforced by state police, not local law enforcement, USA Today reported. Grisham said at a news conference that she is working with New Mexico's Department of Public Safety on enforcement of her order. The order doesn’t give law enforcement the ability to imprison anyone who violates it, and it doesn’t apply to private property.
So far, there are several lawsuits filed against Grisham, four federal lawsuits and a few state lawsuits, and more groups are planning on filing their own lawsuits, including the Republican Party of New Mexico, NM Political Report reported.
Before becoming a congresswoman, Lord started a group called Pro-Gun Women to fight for Second Amendment rights in New Mexico.