CSPOA Legislative Lowdown: AZ Sheriffs and NM State Attorney Stand Against Government Overreach by Rick Dalton

The right of the people to keep and bear arms seems to be always under attack. Recently, in a widely publicized assault on the Second Amendment, the New Mexico Governor has issued an executive order that claims to ban the Second Amendment totally in her state for 30 days.

The New Mexico State Attorney General has publicly opposed the order and refused to enforce it. Here is part of his statement, as reported by news media:

Attorney General Torrez stated,

“Though I recognize my statutory obligation as New Mexico’s chief legal officer to defend state officials when they are sued in their official capacity, my duty to uphold and defend the constitutional rights of every citizen takes precedence. Simply put, I do not believe that the Emergency Order will have any meaningful impact on public safety but, more importantly, I do not believe it passes constitutional muster.”

Additionally, the New Mexico State Sheriff's Association refused to enforce it, calling it unconstitutional.

The illegal and unconstitutional order claimed to be in response to recent shootings, including of juveniles, in New Mexico, which the Governor deemed to constitute an emergency. The only problem is that there is no emergency clause in the US Constitution. And this order is NOT a law.

Just recently the Arizona Sheriff's Association joined the protest, issuing a strongly worded letter. Yavapai County Sheriff Rhodes, the association’s president, said the following:

“This chilling executive order erroneously cites a public health emergency but is nothing less than a full-blown violation of constitutional rights.”

He further said that the order is unprecedented, and that it “completely disregards well established case law and interpretation of the second amendment by the United States Supreme Court which has upheld an individual’s right to bear arms in self-defense.”

We at CSPOA applaud these many sheriffs acting constitutionally to uphold their oath, and to interpose between government overreach and the rights of the citizens they were elected to protect.

Here is the social media post in X, formerly Twitter, by the Arizona Sheriffs, including a link to read the letter in its entirety.

In New Mexico, the governor is limiting 2nd Amendment rights. That shouldn't happen. Our letter of concern is can also be downloaded here:

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As we examine the bipartisan backlash from this unprecedented overreach by the governor of New Mexico, we see a wide and bipartisan rebuke of the Governor's order:

• The Western States Sheriffs Association, with 33 sheriffs in the state, has condemned it.
• Several gun rights groups sued the Governor to stop it.
• Several New Mexico state legislators called for Grisham's impeachment.
• NM State attorney general, who is a democrat, challenged the order on its face.
• AZ Sheriffs Association issued a strong renunciation. AZ has 15 county sheriffs.
• Many other groups also condemned it.