Senate Republicans need Attorney General Merrick Garland to guard New Mexico gun house owners from the Democratic governor’s “chilling” government order suspending open- and concealed-carry legal guidelines, calling it an “unconstitutional power grab.”

The letter led by Sen. Thom Tillis, North Carolina Republican, referred to as for Mr. Garland to “stop this unconstitutional act from standing,” saying the order violates the Second Amendment, the Fourth Amendment, and Article IV of the U.S. Constitution.

“Governor Grisham has issued an order which is being used to blatantly trample on the Second Amendment rights of the citizens of New Mexico, and the Department of Justice must act swiftly to stop this unconstitutional power grab,” stated the six senators within the Wednesday letter.

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham issued an order final week declaring “gun violence a public health emergency,” citing the capturing deaths of three kids within the final two months, together with an 11-year-old boy killed Sept. 6 in a suspected road-rage incident.

Ms. Lujan Grisham declared the “time for standard measures has passed,” however her 30-day order has come underneath hearth from gun-rights teams, state legislators, native regulation enforcement, and even New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez, who has refused to implement the gun ban over constitutionality issues.

Mr. Torrez, a Democrat, urged the governor to rescind her order, saying that solely accountable gun house owners are prone to observe the ban, that means that “it is unclear how this action will lead to a measurable decline in gun violence in our community.”

The governor’s order prohibits carrying firearms on public property in Bernalillo County, the state’s most populous county, with exceptions for safety guards and police. Gun house owners with permits could carry their firearms on personal property so long as they transport them in a locked field or use a set off lock.

Ms. Lujan Grisham additionally ordered the state Regulation and Licensing Division to conduct month-to-month inspections of licensed firearms sellers, and the Health Department to compile a report on gunshot victims handled at hospitals.

The senators stated the U.S. Constitution trumps the governor’s public-health authority.

“While the public health order may invoke state law to authorize this unconstitutional infringement, it should be no match for the authority which the DOJ has to enforce our rights under the U.S. Constitution,” the senators stated. “That is why we are calling on you to enforce the Constitution and intervene on behalf of the constitutional rights of New Mexicans to stop this unconstitutional act from standing.”

The letter was additionally signed by Sens. Marsha Blackburn, Tom Cotton, John Cornyn, Lindsey Graham, and John Kennedy.

“This is a chilling action, and it is imperative that your Department act immediately to show that this kind of unconstitutional abuse will not be tolerated in New Mexico or anywhere else in the United States,” the senators stated.

New Mexico’s governor is violating the Second Amendment, the Fourteenth Amendment, and Article IV of the Constitution by stopping residents from exercising their rights.

Our letter to AG Garland:https://t.co/30pZEDuXdN

— John Kennedy (@SenJohnKennedy) September 13, 2023

Ms. Lujan Grisham has stood by her emergency order regardless of the pushback from law-enforcement officers, together with Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen and Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina, who've stated the directive is unenforceable.

“It’s unconstitutional, so there’s no way we can enforce that order,” Sheriff Allen stated at a Monday press convention.

Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller referred to as Tuesday for a particular session of the state Legislature, saying that “Albuquerque families can’t afford political debates that distract us from fighting violent crime.”

New Mexico had the seventh-highest gun dying fee per capita in 2020, based on the Violence Policy Center. Of the 479 gun deaths in 2020, 69% had been suicides and 31% had been homicides, stated John Hopkins University’s Center for Gun Violence Solutions. 

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