Gun Ban Slapped Down In Federal Court; Legal Setback For MLG But Also A Way Out Of The Corner, Plus: AG Returns Her Fire Following Ruling Also: Gov. Richardson Lies In State, Planning For The Surplus And More Reader Vox Populi

Gov. Lujan Grisham found a rare moment of calm as she paid her respects to former Governor Bill Richardson amid what has been perhaps the most turbulent week of her governorship. 

As Richardson, who died September 1 at 75, lay in state at the Capital Rotunda the political waters continued to churn over MLG's hyper controversial ban on carrying guns in public in Bernalillo County. 

As expected, a federal judge slapped a temporary restraining order on enforcement of the 30 day ban, giving MLG a legal defeat but perhaps a reprieve from the outrage generated by her order and a way out of the corner she has placed herself in. 

She began that process with this reaction to the court defeat in which the judge threw her a bone:

Today a judge temporarily blocked sections of our public health order but recognized the significant problem of gun violence in this state, particularly involving the deaths of children. I refuse to be resigned to the status quo. As governor, I see the pain of families who lost their loved ones to gun violence every single day, and I will never stop fighting to prevent other families from enduring these tragedies. To be clear: gun violence and drug abuse are acute threats to public health and safety in this state. We will stay the course by increasing State Police presence in Bernalillo County, arresting the hundreds of violent offenders with outstanding warrants still on our streets, and directing our healthcare system to immediately expand capacity to accept persons experiencing drug addiction and homelessness. 

Over the past four days, I’ve seen more attention on resolving the crisis of gun violence than I have in the past four years. Now is the time to bring clarity of purpose: New Mexicans must again feel safe walking home from school, driving to the grocery store, or leaving their hometown baseball stadium. Who will stand up to protect families and children? I will. 

AG VS GUV (CONT.)

But MLG's frontal attack Tuesday on Attorney General Torrez, who crossed swords with her on the order, and accused him of basically being a failed BernCo District Attorney when he held the post before becoming AG, left a very sour taste with Torrez. He continued his feud with her following the ruling:

AG Torrez

Judge Urias’ decision to block implementation of the Governor’s unconstitutional Emergency Order is not at all surprising and the Attorney General hopes that today’s ruling will prompt the Governor to abandon her unilateral and divisive approach to complex problems and engage in a more deliberative process that will yield tangible results. . .The Attorney General is committed to the legislative process and to working with Governor Lujan Grisham to build a safer community without sacrificing the constitutional rights of our citizens. We need more and better trained police officers; stricter gun laws and tougher guidelines for pretrial detention; robust mental health and drug treatment; rehabilitation programs to reduce recidivism. . .

A clash between the AG and the Governor of the same party is highly unusual. But there is literally blood in the streets in our town--the blood of our children--and if these two want to spill some of their own in a fight to see who can do better, so be it. 

Maybe the upside of the Guv's misstep is that we get greater accountability among the politicians and law enforcement in the state and city. Up until now, they have utterly failed. 

(MLG had her General Counsel represent her at the hearing after Torrez, whose job it is to represent the Governor and state in lawsuits refused to do so.)

HOW IT CAME DOWN

As the gun ban frenzy peaked and the ruling by Judge David Urias, 56, a Biden appointee and UNM School of Law product, calmed the waters, a consensus among top sources in the political community started to take hold on how we got where we are. Here's how one sized it up:

Joe, The Governor was obviously prompted to take action by the shooting deaths in ABQ of a 5 year old and an 11 year old, but she acted impulsively which has often been a characteristic of her time in office. The Public Health Order she announced was not properly vetted so we had the surreal sight of other top Democratic officials rebuking the state's chief executive. The fallout was harsh and the Governor's fighting instinct then took over and she posted combative responses to her critics. Her goal of having a "dialogue" over guns was lost in the chaos. In the end she was stuck playing defense and now is trying to dig herself out of the hole she dug for herself. 

BACKLASH STILLED

While the backlash should be stilled with the court order Senate Minority Leader Greg Baca did get off this blast:

Judge Urias

We applaud the judge’s ruling against the governor and her unconstitutional order. The governor’s malfeasance and utter disregard for the Constitution is alarming. By her own admission, she believes there are virtually no limits to the exercise of executive power. The Constitution says otherwise, and today, the court took action to remedy her blatant abuse of power against the citizens of New Mexico. We hope this ruling and the vast backlash sends a clear message to the Governor and her allies—the people have had enough, and we will not stand by idly and allow our freedoms and rights to be eroded.

The conservative editorial board of the Wall St. Journal also took time to pile on:

Ms. Lujan Grisham’s order might have been meant to show she’s serious about gun violence. Instead it’s sending the message that she’s unserious about governing and ineffectual besides. Her comeuppance is a useful lesson for other Governors tempted to violate the Constitution to make a political point.

MOVING THE BALL

While Republicans had a field day attacking the Governor over her gun ban they did not appear to advance the ball very far. One of our Senior Alligators explains:

Joe, this state is now so Democratic that the consequences of this are within the Democratic Party--a split between the Dem conservatives and progressives. The Republicans have no major personality on the state stage to take advantage and their numbers in the Legislature are so slim that they are roadblocked there. I would give them the PR victory in MLG's misstep but unfortunately for them their relevancy remains borderline at best. 

Part of the reason for that irrelevancy is the continued embrace of radical Republican elements by the state party. That was again in evidence by the attendance of MAGA outlaw Couy Griffin at the news conference conducted Tuesday by GOP Chair Steve Pearce regarding the party's lawsuit over the Guv's gun ban. 

Still, the mishap has been a blow to the Governor's prestige and power at the Roundhouse, a sure sign that we are heading deeper into the traditionally more troubled second term for a Governor. 

Now that the court ruling has reduced the heat, her best bet may be to lay low and perhaps ponder what Bill Richardson would do, the man who helped start her off in public life and whose considered advice she will now surely miss. 

A PLAN?

Sen. Tallman

One item MLG could busy herself with is more specific and comprehensive plans for deployment of the billions of dollars that continue to accumulate in state reserves from the SE oil boom. We blogged about the lack Aug. 24 and ABQ Dem state Sen. Bill Tallman comes with this reaction: 

Joe: You are absolutely right to be distressed about the lack of planning regarding how to use the billions of dollars in "new" money to address the problems that lead to our low ranking in many of our quality of life rankings. NM has a long history of not performing statewide strategic planning on a number of the state's issues, problems and crises. Please see my attachment for 5 additional examples of nonplanning.

In that attachment Tallman lists behavioral health, education, replacing oil revenues, water infrastructure and how to allocate capital outlay funds. The full document is here. 

MORE VOX POPULI 

Gun conrol, like abortion, is an emotional trigger for many voters and that has been reflected in our email. An ABQ reader came with this: 

Joe, more money to hold a special legislative session is BS. We have enough laws. What we need is less talk. We need judges who actually punish criminals not judges who bypass commonsense and fall back on guidelines. This is not an issue of arresting criminals, it’s a penalty issue plain and simple. 

Reader Michele Connelly writes:

Hi Joe, Thank you for your excellent, balanced, sane coverage of MLG and the gun ban. I know of no one else who is saying what needs to be said. Keep it up!  

Will do, Michele.

Thanks for checking in here. 

Reporting from ABQ, I'm Joe Monahan

This is the home of New Mexico politics.

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