On September 7, 2023, New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham issued Executive Order 2023-130 declaring a state of emergency exists in New Mexico related to “gun violence”. Based upon the declaration of an emergency, Secretary of the New Mexico Department of Health, Patrick Allen, issued a “Public Health Emergency Order Imposing Temporary Firearm Restrictions, Drug Monitoring, and Other Public Safety Measures” on September 8, 2023.
The Orders make it illegal, until at least October 6, 2023, for “ordinary, law-abiding citizens” of New Mexico to carry firearms in public for self-defense in Albuquerque or Bernalillo County. Put another way, the Orders banned carry in two of New Mexico’s counties in direct defiance of the clear command of the Second Amendment and the Supreme Court’s edicts.
On September 11, 2023, the Second Amendment Foundation, joined by one individual, and two civil rights organizations, filed suit against New Mexico’s Governor, Cabinet Secretaries of the New Mexico Department of Health and Department of Public Safety, and the Chief of the New Mexico State Police. The lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order along with a preliminary and permanent injunction, along with a declaration that the Defendants violated the Second and Fourteenth Amendments and injunctive relief to prevent the Department from continuing to deprive individuals of the ability to exercise their constitutional rights.
Case Team: Jordon George
Case Documents
To access all of the case documents at the District Court,, please visit the docket.
To view documents filed on appeal, please visit the Court of Appeals docket.
Case Media