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New Mexico’s governor temporarily banned Albuquerque’s citizens from carrying guns in public — this after a surge in shootings — and defended her controversial decision on video.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham made the move Friday, issuing an order to suspend open and concealed carry of firearms in this one city specifically — for a total of 30 days — after citing a public health emergency pertaining to the number of gun violence incidents of late.
The story that broke the camel’s back … the shooting death of an 11-year-old boy on Wednesday named Froylan Villegas — who was killed after leaving a park with his family, which police now say emanated from a road rage matter. He got caught in the crossfire.
Tragic as that is, many are outraged … calling the Gov’s order a blatant violation of the Constitution. She disagrees with that — explaining to the press Friday why she felt she had the unilateral power on this issue … noting not every Constitutional right is absolute.
Check out how she explains this … Gov. Lujan Grisham says she has a duty to protect the people of her state, and if gun violence starts to present a serious public health problem — she says she’s within her right and powers to do what she needs to stop the bleeding.
Worth noting, NM is an open-carry state in general — meaning people can walk around with pistols in their holster in most public areas … so that’s why it’s ruffling a lot of feathers.
As far what repercussions people face during this month-long ban … it’s not all that serious — they amount to civil penalties and a fine of up to $5,000. So we’ll see who abides or not.
Interestingly enough, some law enforcement leaders have already publicly said they are not going to enforce what the governor is asking for here … and, of course, legal challenges in court are expected to be filed in the coming days as well.
TMZ Staff
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