A federal judge on Wednesday cleared the way for enforcement of a public health order suspending the right to carry guns in public parks and playgrounds in New Mexico’s largest metropolitan area.
The order by U.S. District Judge David Urias rejects a request by gun rights advocates to block the temporary firearms restrictions while legal challenges move forward.
The order marks a victory for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and her push for temporary gun restrictions to respond to recent childhood shootings across the state.
The standoff is one of many in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court decision last year that expanded gun rights. Leaders in politically liberal-leaning states are exploring new avenues for restrictions.
In New Mexico, the restrictions have ignited a furor of public protests, prompted Republican calls for the governor’s impeachment and widened divisions among top Democratic officials.
Lujan Grisham, D-N.M., argued this week that some sensitive public spaces should be closed to open or concealed carry.
Gun rights advocates, arguing that even a new, scaled-back version would deprive Albuquerque-area residents of their 2nd Amendment right to carry in public for self-defense, have filed a series of lawsuits and court motions aimed at blocking the restrictions in her order.
But in denying the injunction, the judge ruled that the plaintiffs had not shown a substantial likelihood of success at trial. He rejected arguments that gun restrictions for “sensitive” places should apply only to locations for core government functions, such as polling places, and not to playgrounds.
