New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez has urged Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to reconsider the implementation of a public health order that restricts gun owners’ rights to carry their firearms in Albuquerque and Bernalillo County.

In a letter obtained by Tri-City Record dated Sept. 12, Torrez told the governor that his office would not defend her administration in cases challenging “Public Health Emergency Order Imposing Temporary Firearm Restrictions, Drug Monitoring and Other Public Safety Measures.”

Four civil cases have been filed against Lujan Grisham as of Sept. 12. They are: National Association for Gun Rights v. Grisham, Blas v. Grisham, Donk v. Grisham and We the Patriots USA Inc. v. Grisham.

Torrez stated it is his “statutory obligation as New Mexico’s chief legal officer to defend state officials when they are sued in their official capacity,” but he further wrote that his “duty to uphold the constitutional rights of every citizen takes precedence.”

Torrez told the governor, he does “not believe the Emergency Order will have any meaningful impact on public safety but, more importantly, I do not believe it passes constitutional muster.”

Torrez called the governor’s actions “novel” and “unlikely to survive judicial scrutiny” saying the order’s “flawed legal foundation is likely to obscure rather than highlight meaningful solutions.”

He also pointed out that criminals were not likely to follow the order. “Given that only responsible gun owners are likely to abide, much less recognize your ban it is unclear how this action will lead to a measurable decline in gun violence in our community,” Torrez wrote.

“Criminals don’t care about her making that statement. Criminals don’t care about that at all,” Farmington Mayor Nate Duckett said, in agreement with Torrez. He added that Lujan Grisham “doesn’t have the authority to override the Constitution of the United States. No governor does.”

Duckett stated that during COVID, many city governments asked the New Mexico Legislature to “put boundaries” on the governor’s ability to place restrictions on freedoms under the guise of a public health emergency. “How far do these public health powers go for the governor?” he said.

Torrez addressed this issue in his letter, writing, “Considering the extraordinary resistance that many citizens had to certain public health restrictions during the recent COVID pandemic, I believe it is unwise to stretch the definition of a ‘public health emergency’ to encompass something that is fundamentally a public safety issue.”

Duckett said the issue is the governor “believes these public health orders give her this type of authority,” and he hopes the state legislature will look to “limit these powers” in a future session.

“You are not addressing the issue at hand,” Duckett said. “We are not enforcing gun laws the way we should be. Violent criminals are allowed to walk the streets and are not being kept in jail.”

Many violent criminals are released from jail while they await a future court date, and some recommit crimes when they are let out of jail.

“It’s time for us to stand up for our rights as citizens and have criminals held accountable,” Duckett said.

Torrez agreed that the state’s laws need to be revisited and that the state’s residents understand there is not a single solution to public safety, yet multiple issues that need to be addressed “simultaneously and comprehensively to make a meaningful impact.”

He suggested more police officers, “stricter gun laws and tougher guidelines for pretrial detention.”

Torrez also said the state needs “robust mental health and drug treatment,” along with rehabilitation programs to help reduce recidivism rates.

He also stated the use of “real-time date on gun crimes and gun trafficking” would be wise, as well as a “protective services framework that keeps today’s child victims from maturing into the next generation’s repeat offenders.”

Torrez pointed out there is a “more thoughtful and deliberative process” to this issue and that is to avoid “unilateral action that infringes on the constitutional rights of law abiding citizens,” and instead discuss the issue with the New Mexico Legislature and make changes to the laws.

Torrez said he understands the governor’s frustration as well as the “heart-wrenching challenge of gun violence” in the community, but he also urged her “to reconsider this course of action and redouble your efforts to bring about lasting change through the democratic process.”

He promised his office would provide resources should Lujan Grisham choose to build “a safer community without sacrificing the constitutional rights which we have sworn an oat to preserve, protect and defend.”