Why Arizona should thank the New Mexico Democrats who defied their governor

This is how you get your country back.

You get it back when good people in both major political parties begin to call out the extremism on their side of the aisle.

A month ago, I asked in a column where is the Democrats’ Rusty Bowers?

Rusty Bowers, of course, is the former Republican Speaker of the Arizona House who refused to violate the U.S. Constitution to help the national leader of his own party — then-President Donald Trump — to overturn an election.

Now a new Rusty Bowers has stepped forward.

New Mexico Democrats defy the governor

He is Raúl Torrez, the Democratic attorney general of the state of New Mexico.

He is John Allen, the Democratic sheriff of Bernalillo County, N. M.

He is Joseph Cervantes, a Democratic state senator from Las Cruces.

He is Sam Bregman, the Democratic district attorney of Bernalillo County.

These four New Mexicans, among others, have chosen to stand against the state’s Democratic governor, Michelle Lujan Grisham, after she issued an emergency order suspending the right to carry firearms in public, a clear violation of the Second Amendment.

Lujan Grisham said she was compelled to issue the 30-day emergency order for Albuquerque and surrounding Bernalillo County after a spate of shootings led to the death of an 11-year-old boy last week.

Her gun ban is unconstitutional, they say

On Tuesday, New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez said he won’t defend the governor’s gun ban against legal challenges.

In a letter to Lujan Grisham, Torrez wrote, “Simply put, I do not believe that the Emergency Order will have any meaningful impact on public safety but, more importantly, I do not believe it passes constitutional muster.

“... Given that only responsible gun owners are likely to abide, much less recognize your ban, it is unclear how this action will lead to a measurable decline in gun violence in our community.”

Torrez follows in the footsteps of Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen.

On Monday, Allen, a Democrat, said of the governor’s gun ban, “It’s unconstitutional, so there’s no way we can enforce that order. ... This ban does nothing to curb gun violence.”

The difference between there and Arizona

An important party ally of the governor’s, Sen. Joseph Cervantes of Las Cruces, said on X, formerly Twitter, “An unconstitutional approach undermines the important collaboration gun issues deserve, and the important role of a governor to lead genuine reforms.”

Sam Bregman, the Bernalillo County district attorney and a Democrat, said he would not enforce the order. “As an officer of the court, I cannot and will not enforce something that is clearly unconstitutional.”

Other Democrats across New Mexico are also speaking out and condemning the governor’s emergency order.

Another view: Why Rusty Bowers should run for US Senate

This is not to argue that what is happening in New Mexico is as serious as what happened in Arizona. The stakes were greater here; the misconduct of a leading public official was by measures many times worse.

Donald Trump, without evidence, was attempting to use government leaders in his own party to reverse the 2020 election. Had they done his bidding, the country would have faced a constitutional crisis.

That is and was corrosive to democracy and played a huge role in the national divisions we feel today.

Still, those Democrats deserve our thanks

Brave Republicans such as Rusty Bowers, Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, Arizona State Sen. Paul Boyer and then Maricopa County Supervisor Bill Gates and colleagues Clint Hickman and Jack Sellers stood against Trump and his “Stop the Steal.”

Nor is this column meant to compare the sacrifice those Republicans made to those of New Mexico Democrats. GOP support in Arizona for Trump was far more potent than Democratic support for Lujan Grisham and her gun ban in New Mexico.

In Arizona, Rusty Bowers destroyed his political career defying Trump.

But what if other Democratic party leaders and other Democratic governors had rallied around Lujan Grisham, and decided that the only way to make progress on gun violence was to challenge the Constitution?

What then?

That too, could have become a national crisis.

And it’s reason why New Mexico Democrats who now stand against the brazen attack on one of our nation’s fundamental rights deserve our thanks and admiration.

Phil Boas is an editorial columnist with The Arizona Republic. Email him at phil.boas@arizonarepublic.com. 

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: New Mexico Democrats deserve praise for defying their governor