Eddy County resolution opposes Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's public health order

Mike Smith, Carlsbad Current-Argus
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Members of the Eddy County Board of Commissioners both stated opposition to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's recent public health order and urged her administration to call a special session of the New Mexico Legislature to address crime issues in the state.

A resolution to that effect was passed unanimously, after a separate vote to change some of the language as proposed by Commissioner Sarah Cordova.

Commissioners voted 4 to 1, to keep language in the resolution that said: “unconstitutional acts have eroded confidence New Mexicans have in the governor’s ability to lead our state and perform duties protected under the gubernatorial oath.”

More: President of NM police chiefs assoc.: Gov left police out of gun violence discussion

Cordova advocated for the languages removal, saying some of her constituents voices the governor's sincerity in issuing the health order to protect New Mexicans against gun violence.

“And I would respectfully say that the people in my district that I talked to felt it was action — albeit, maybe it was not the best course action to go about such a thing. But there are some people out there who believe her intention was sincere,” Cordova said.

District 1 Commissioner Ernie Carlson said constituents in his southern Eddy County district expressed the opposite view.

Tuesday’s vote was nearly two weeks after the governor issued a public health order suspending the open and concealed carry of handguns in communities experiencing high rates of gun violence. At the time the order was issued, only Albuquerque and Bernalillo County has such thresholds.

Seventy pairs of shoes were placed on the west Capitol steps during a domestic violence vigil on Thursday, Sept. 14, 2023, to represent the women and children killed each year by abusers with firearms in Michigan.
Seventy pairs of shoes were placed on the west Capitol steps during a domestic violence vigil on Thursday, Sept. 14, 2023, to represent the women and children killed each year by abusers with firearms in Michigan.

Luajn Grisham said the order was in response to recent gun violence resulting in death of several children in separate incidence.

U.S. District Judge David Urias Sept. 13 ruled that the order violated the Second Amendment which allowed U.S. citizens to carry a firearm. Another hearing is set for October.

A Sept. 15 update to the public health order by Lujan Grisham's administration removed the previous provision around firearms and replaced it with a provision that temporarily suspends the carrying of firearms at parks and playgrounds in Albuquerque and Bernalillo County, according to a news release from the governor’s office.

More: New Mexico conservatives call Gov. Lujan Grisham's Albuquerque gun ban an overreach

A closer look at the amended health order

“I’m going to continue pushing to make sure that all of us are using every resource available to put an end to this public health emergency with the urgency it deserves,” said Lujan Grisham in a news release. “I will not accept the status quo – enough is enough.”

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham tours the trail at Living Desert Zoo and Gardens State Park, June 1, 2022 in Carlsbad.
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham tours the trail at Living Desert Zoo and Gardens State Park, June 1, 2022 in Carlsbad.

Other provisions in the amended order include:

  • Directing the New Mexico Department of Corrections and the Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management to provide assistance to the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center and its contractors to ensure adequate staffing, space, and screening for arrested and incarcerated individuals; provided that nothing in this provision shall be construed to limit the authority and responsibility of Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center in managing its operations.

  • Directing all participating New Mexico Managed Care Organizations to immediately ensure that individuals who need drug or alcohol treatment have received a permanent, adequate treatment placement within 24 hours of the request.

  • Directing the New Mexico Human Services Department to send relevant Managed Care Organizations letters of direction requiring them to provide their plans to achieve continual behavioral health network adequacy.

As part of the effort to stem violent crime in New Mexico, Lujan Grisham named Ben Baker to the governor’s staff as a senior public safety advisor. Baker has been the Deputy Cabinet Secretary and Interim Law Enforcement Academy Director at the Department of Public Safety since 2021, and has worked in law enforcement since 1997, read the press release.

Mike Smith can be reached at 575-628-5546 or by email at MSmith@currentargus.com or @ArgusMichae on X formerly Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Carlsbad Current-Argus: Eddy County opposes Gov. Lujan Grisham's health order