New Mexico's public health emergency, suspension of gun rights condemned on the left and right

New Mexico Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's decision to declare a public health emergency and suspend concealed carry gun rights is being condemned on both sides of the political aisle. 

"I support gun safety laws," California Democrat Congressman Ted Lieu wrote on X, the platform previously called Twitter. "However, this order from the Governor of New Mexico violates the U.S. Constitution. No state in the union can suspend the federal Constitution. There is no such thing as a state public health emergency exception to the U.S. Constitution."

Late Saturday, a gun rights group sued Grisham in federal court, alleging her emergency order is unconstitutional.

The National Association for Gun Rights sued on behalf of Albuquerque resident Foster Haines, asking the U.S. District Court in New Mexico to block implementation of the order.

On Friday, Grisham suspended open and concealed carry of firearms in the city of Albuquerque for a 30-day period. The day before, she issued an executive order declaring a public health emergency over gun violence. 

She issued the order following the shooting of an 11-year-old boy outside a baseball stadium, according to The Associated Press.

2024 presidential candidate and Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis took to social media to criticize Grisham.

"Just a few months after ending the COVID 'public health emergency,' the Governor of New Mexico has declared a new 'public health emergency': Guns. She is now asserting the power to infringe on Second Amendment rights by executive fiat," DeSantis wrote. 

"This assertion is not surprising — since 2020, 'public health' has become a pretext for depriving citizens of civil liberties and trampling on our Constitutional rights," the post continued. "It ends when I am President. Your 2nd Amendment rights SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED."

One of the "March for Our Lives" founders, David Hogg, said that Grisham's actions were unconstitutional. 

"I support gun safety but there is no such thing as a state public health emergency exception to the U.S. Constitution," Hogg wrote on X. 

Hogg was a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida when 17 people were killed in a mass shooting in 2018. He has been an outspoken advocate for gun safety and stricter laws regarding firearms.

Two New Mexico state representatives have called for an impeachment of Grisham over the public health emergency declaration. 

"This emergency order violates the Governor's oath to protect and defend the rights of New Mexicans and is illegal in nature," State Rep. Stefani Lord (R-22) wrote in a press release. 

"The legislature has a duty to intervene when the government is overstepping boundaries, and Governor Grisham's order and comments disqualify her from continuing her tenure as governor," the release continued.

New Mexico State Rep. John Block (R-51) said that the legislature would force a vote on the matter of impeachment. 

"We can and will force a vote on this," Block wrote on X. "There is no escaping We The People and our rights that have been infringed upon."