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Two Republican members of the New Mexico State House of Representatives are calling for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to be impeached after she temporarily suspended open and concealed carry across Albuquerque and the surrounding Bernalillo County for at least 30 days.
Grisham on Thursday said she needed to respond to recent gun-related deaths, which include an 11-year-old boy who was shot and killed while outside a minor league baseball stadium on Wednesday night.
The suspension of open and concealed carry was classified as an emergency public health order.
"When New Mexicans are afraid to be in crowds, to take their kids to school, to leave a baseball game — when their very right to exist is threatened by the prospect of violence at every turn — something is very wrong," Lujan Grisham said in a statement.
New Mexico State Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham speaks at a rally hosted by the Democratic Party of New Mexico at Ted M. Gallegos Community Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on November 3, 2022. (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
Republican state Reps. Stefani Lord and John Block announced on Saturday they are calling for the governor to be impeached.
"I am calling on counsel to begin the impeachment process against Governor Grisham," Lord said. "This is an abhorrent attempt at imposing a radical, progressive agenda on an unwilling populous. Rather than addressing crime at its core, Governor Grisham is restricting the rights of law-abiding gun owners. Even Grisham believes this emergency order won’t prohibit criminals from carrying or using weapons; a basic admission that this will only put New Mexicans in danger as they won’t be able to defend themselves from violent crime."
Speaking with Fox News Digital, Lord said that Grisham is a "rogue governor."
"She put this emergency order together and it violates her oath. And she's supposed to be protecting and defending the rights of New Mexico, she can't just raise her hand one day and say, I promise to uphold this oath and promised to protect the people of New Mexico and the Constitution, and then just one day decide, oh, just kidding," Lord said.
Block told Fox News Digital that there "is no such thing as a state public health emergency exception to the U.S. Constitution."
New Mexico State Rep. Stefani Lord (New Mexico Legislature)
"It is an absolutely flagrant attack on law-abiding citizens who she is targeting with this order, and she is trying to force litigation and waste more taxpayer dollars while doing it, because New Mexicans are the ones that are going to have to pay the legal bills on this, not her personally."
The National Association for Gun Rights and Foster Haines, a resident of Albuquerque, announced on Saturday they filed a lawsuit against Grisham and New Mexico Secretary of Health Patrick Allen, arguing the emergency order is unconstitutional. They are asking for a temporary restraining order against the measure to be issued.
"Gov. Luhan Grisham is throwing up a middle finger to the Constitution and the Supreme Court," said Dudley Brown, President of the National Association for Gun Rights.
"Gov. Luhan Grisham is throwing up a middle finger to the Constitution and the Supreme Court"
Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., weighed in on Grisham's executive order, saying it's unconstitutional.
"I support gun safety laws. However, this order from the Governor of New Mexico violates the U.S. Constitution. No state in the union can suspend the federal Constitution. There is no such thing as a state public health emergency exception to the U.S. Constitution," Lieu said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
David Hogg, who advocates for stricter gun laws, said on X "I support gun safety but there is no such thing as a state public health emergency exception to the U.S. Constitution."
New Mexico State Rep. John Block (New Mexico Legislature)
Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen said after the order was issued that he has concerns.
"While I understand and appreciate the urgency, the temporary ban challenges the foundation of our constitution, which I swore an oath to uphold," Allen said. "I am wary of placing my deputies in positions that could lead to civil liability conflicts, as well as the potential risks posed by prohibiting law-abiding citizens from their constitutional right to self-defense."
Fox News' Landon Mion contributed to this report.
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