Local and state leaders from the both Democrat and Republican parties are coming out saying Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s executive order declaring gun violence as a public health order is unconstitutional.

Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen called the order unconstitutional during press conference Monday. “It's unconstitutional, so there's no way we can enforce that order. This ban does nothing to curb gun violence.”

Allen’s comments came days after San Juan County Sheriff Shane Ferrari made a public statement as both the local sheriff and as the chairman of the New Mexico Sheriff’s Association and the New Mexico Sheriff’s Affiliate.

“The New Mexico Sheriffs' Association understands the struggle Albuquerque and Bernalillo County face regarding violent crime. Many rural New Mexico counties are impacted by big city crime spilling over into our communities,” Ferrari began, adding the association does not support the “governor’s temporary suspension of legal concealed carry and open carry firearms.”

Ferrari, a Republican, pointed out that criminals do not open-carry firearms.

“This will directly impact law-abiding citizens,” he said, adding the executive order violated the Second Amendment.

San Juan County District Attorney Rick Tedrow said he believes this is “a man-made problem that caused the perfect storm of lawlessness in Bernalillo County.”

In 2015, he said, the New Mexico Legislature got rid of bail, and then Albuquerque and Bernalillo County got placed on a case management order. Then, the Department of Justice came in to oversee the Albuquerque Police Department.

“Our office is looking at it just like we did during COVID, and we don’t see the authority for the public health statute and we are very concerned on how the use of the all-emergencies statute is being used,” he said.

Democratic leaders in the state also said the law was unconstitutional. Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman, a Democratic Party leader who was appointed by Lujan Grisham, joined Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller and Police Chief Harold Medina saying they too would not enforce it.

Lujan Grisham said she issued the order to combat crime and drug abuse in Albuquerque and Bernalillo County. She said her actions were spawned by the recent shooting deaths of children: a 13-year-old girl on July 28, a 5-year-old girl on Aug. 14 and an 11-year-old boy on Sept. 6,

“As I said yesterday (Sept. 6), the time for standard measures has passed,” Lujan Grisham said during a Sept. 7 press conference implementing the executive order. “And 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.”

Ferrari said he agreed crime in Albuquerque is “rampant,” especially considering the shortage of law enforcement officers there. “We fear announcing to criminals that citizens in the public will no longer have the ability to defend themselves will have a catastrophic effect,” he said.

Ferrari added the governor should focus on “strengthening our border security with Mexico where deadly fentanyl enters New Mexico and the United States. We cannot continue to ignore that fact regardless of one's political views,” he said.

n addition to Ferrari and the law enforcement leaders in Albuquerque and Bernalillo County, the New Mexico Republican Party has announced its plans to file a legal challenge of the executive order.

Sen. Bill Sharer of Farmington said the governor "sets up a situation so we can’t arrest bad guys making the world more dangerous, and if we can’t arrest bad guys let’s arrest good guys. You’re gonna treat bad guys as if they’re good guys then, we’re gonna treat good guys like they’re bad guys."

“It is unacceptable that the federal and state constitutional rights of New Mexicans have been wholly disregarded in a political stunt by the governor,” House Republican Leader Ryan Lane said.

Rep. Lane of Aztec said the country and stated “were founded on principles of freedom and democracy, and one political figure will not erase our shared history.

Lane pointed out that people around the state and country expressed “outrage” over the governor’s order. He added “we will not back down from defending and fighting for what makes the United States of America a unique experiment.”

Other Republican state lawmakers stated a proposal to initiate impeachment proceedings against Lujan-Grisham, which would require buy-in from the Democrats who control the state Legislature.

The top Republican in the New Mexico Senate, Greg Baca of Belen, denounced the order as an infringement on the gun rights of law-abiding citizens and Dan Lewis, who serves on the nonpartisan Albuquerque City Council, called it unconstitutional.

The head of the lobbying arm of the National Rifle Association, Randy Kozuch, issued a statement on Sunday calling the order a “shocking” act of “administrative fiat” that undermined “the fundamental rights of law-abiding New Mexicans.” Gun-toting protesters held a peaceful rally in Albuquerque’s Old Town area.

Allen on Monday alluded again to concerns he expressed in a statement late Friday about putting deputies at risk if they sought to arrest people with guns.

“I do not want to have political violence towards my deputies or here in Bernalillo County,” he said. “I have enough violence here.”

The order does not extend outside of Albuquerque and Bernalillo County, however, New Mexico residents visiting the city or county would have to abide by the rule and would no longer be permitted to carry their guns onto public property. The only exceptions would be licensed security guards and law enforcement officers.

Citizens with permits to carry firearms would be free to possess their weapons on private property such as at a gun range or gun store, according to the order. They would have to transport their firearm to and from those locations in a locked box, use a trigger lock, or some other mechanism that renders the gun incapable of being fired.

According to The Associated Press, violators could face civil penalties and a fine of up to $5,000, gubernatorial spokeswoman Caroline Sweeney said.

Susan Montoya Bryan of The Associated Press contributed to this article.