New Mexico governor’s unconstitutional gun edict shows dangers of ‘emergency powers’

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham speaks at the Arcosa Wind Towers, Aug. 9, 2023, in Belen, N.M. Grisham on Friday, Sept. 8, issued an emergency public health order that suspends the open and permitted concealed carry of firearms in Albuquerque for 30 days in the midst of a spate of gun violence. (Alex Brandon/AP)

When New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham issued “a public health emergency order” that purportedly suspended the right to bear arms in Albuquerque and surrounding Bernalillo County last week, her justification was seemingly straightforward.

“I have emergency powers,” she told The New York Times. “Gun violence is an epidemic. Therefore, it’s an emergency.”