Open and concealed gun carry are temporary outlawed in Albuquerque, New Mexico’s largest city, after Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham issued an emergency order on Friday in response to a slew of recent gun-related incidents.
The order will take effect in Albuquerque and the surrounding Bernalillo County for the next 30 days. Police and licensed security guards to continue carrying their weapons.
Among the recent shootings in the area was a road rage incident Wednesday that killed an 11-year-old boy as bullets sprayed into a crowd of people leaving a minor league baseball game.
Lujan Grisham said that she felled compelled to act after that incident, even though she expects strong legal challenges to her order.
The restrictions “are going to pose incredible challenges for me as a governor and as a state,” the Democratic governor said at a news conference Friday.
“I welcome the debate and fight about how to make New Mexicans safer,” she added.
Under the order, those with concealed carry permits will be allowed to transport their weapons to private locations including gun ranges or gun stores, as long as the gun has a trigger lock that prevents any discharge.
Caroline Sweeney, a spokeswoman for the governor, said those who violate the temporary law could face a maximum fine of $5,000.
The decision was also connected to a threshold for violent crime, which only Albuquerque currently meets.
Besides the shooting outside the baseball game, Lujan Grisham also referenced at her news conference the fatal shooting of a 5-year-old girl and a separate shooting death of a 13-year-old girl which both occurred in August.
Lujan Grisham has signed multiple gun laws during her time in office, including a 2020 law that allowed for the confiscation of guns from individuals deemed likely to hurt themselves or others, as well as an extension of background-check requirements for almost all private gun sales.
Republican state Sen. Greg Baca denounced the governor’s decision.
“A child is murdered, the perpetrator is still on the loose, and what does the governor do? She … targets law-abiding citizens with an unconstitutional gun order,” Baca said in a statement Friday.
With News Wire Services