SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) – Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham held a press conference on Friday, September 15, at 11:00 a.m. This comes one week after the governor ordered a 30-day suspension on the open and concealed carrying of firearms in the state.
Since the declaration, numerous lawsuits have been filed against Governor Lujan Grisham, as well as protests against the health order. On Wednesday, Judge David Urias sided with gun advocates in court and implemented a temporary restraining order, preventing enforcement of the governor’s open-carry/concealed carry ban.
Announcing modifications to the health order Friday, the governor says the state will narrow the scope of the previous ban on open and concealed firearm carrying in Bernalillo County. That ban, the governor says, will now only apply to open and concealed firearm carrying in “public parks and playgrounds.”
Another modification focuses on drug abuse and treatment. That provision directs local health care providers to place people seeking drug and alcohol treatment in “a permanent, adequate treatment placement,” such as inpatient or outpatient programs, within 24 hours.
Alongside the modifications, the governor also said she’s directing law enforcement officers in “all jurisdictions” to “coordinate their efforts to make sure open, illicit, substance abuse, drug use is being addressed.” Speaking of arrests tied to the open use of drugs in public, the governor emphasized that the state “cannot allow illicit [drug] activity to occur.”
“The state has not actively been dealing with that accountability for a number of reasons,” Lujan Grisham said. “Not the least of which is treatment, incarceration, situations where we can’t get people booked; we don’t have enough prosecutors, any number of barriers.”
The governor also announced that she has no plans yet to call a special legislative session to address crime. The updated public health order can be read here.
