U.S. District Court Judge David Urias temporarily blocked New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s gun ban on Sept. 13. This came after almost a week of controversy, and members of the New Mexico GOP applauded the ruling by the federal judge.
"Today’s ruling by Judge Urias is a resounding rebuke of the governor’s rogue order against the people of this state," the New Mexico House Republican Caucus said. "The people of New Mexico can rest assured that any future attempt to undermine their constitutional rights will be met with the same swift action. Contrary to what the governor said, the oath we as elected officials take is indeed absolute."
As stated in a previous story in the New Mexico Sun, 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. It applied to those carrying guns in public, not private property. It was done ostensibly in response to recent shooting deaths of children in New Mexico.
Urias, who was appointed by President Joe Biden, said the gun ban went against a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that people had a right to defend themselves in public, according to Reuters.
Several officials, including Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen, Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman, Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller and Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina, all said they would not enforce the ban, the New Mexico Sun reported. New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez stated that he would not defend the gun ban in court, saying that it violated the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Reuters reported that Keller and Allen both called for a special session of the state legislature in order to deal with gun violence.
Several lawsuits were filed against Grisham for the gun ban, and New Mexico Republicans have called for her to be impeached.
Urias has served as a United States District Court judge for the District of New Mexico since Jan. 14, 2022. Prior to being a federal judge, Urias was an attorney in Albuquerque, Ballotpedia reported.