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Sept. 13, 2023 - Epoch Times

14:31

Entire State ERUPTS Against Governor's Anti-Gun Mandate

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	This right here is Ms.
	Michelle Grisham, the current Democrat governor of the state of New Mexico.
	And exactly three days ago, on Saturday, Ms.
	Grisham did something unprecedented.
	Citing an increase in gun violence, as well as several high-profile cases of children getting shot recently, Ms.
	Grisham instituted an emergency public health order Which, among other things, suspended the gun rights of the most populous county in the state.
	I repeat, just as many people had predicted during the COVID pandemic, wherein the government claimed to have all these new powers because of a supposed emergency, well, the governor of New Mexico has just issued a public health emergency centered around gun violence and using that health emergency as her justification for She suspended the gun rights of American citizens, not only the gun rights that are protected under the Second Amendment, but also the gun rights that are enshrined in the New Mexico state constitution.
	However, instead of just going along and complying with her, it appears that the citizens...
	The police force, the sheriff's office, and even the mainstream media have all turned on the governor and called out the scheme as being a legal executive overreach.
	However, let's start at the very beginning.
	Three days ago, here was specifically what the governor said as a part of her directive.
	Anyone who doesn't smash those like and subscribe buttons will have their guns confiscated.
	Now, I am, of course, just joking about that.
	However, smashing those like and subscribe buttons will force the YouTube algorithm to share this information out to ever more people, and by letting more Americans know about this executive overreach, it could have the effect of protecting our Second Amendment rights well into the future.
	However, here is what the governor actually said.
	Quote, Then, citing the death of an 11-year-old boy just earlier this month, a a five-year-old girl last month, and the death of a 13-year-old girl
	two months ago in July, the New Mexico governor went ahead and she temporarily suspended the gun rights of everyone living in the state's most populous county, except for security guards as well as police officers.
	Here was exactly what her order stated.
	The action plan includes a suspension of open and concealed carry laws in Bernalillo County, temporarily prohibiting the carrying of guns on public property with certain exceptions.
	Exceptions include for licensed security guards and law enforcement officers.
	Citizens with permits to carry firearms are free to possess their weapons on private property, such as at a gun range or gun store, provided they transport the firearm in a locked box, use a trigger lock, or some other mechanism that renders the gun incapable of being fired.
	Now, just for your reference, in case you're not aware, Bernalillo County is the most populous county in the state of New Mexico.
	Something like 32% of everyone in the whole state lives in that one county.
	Furthermore, New Mexico has some of the broadest protection for gun rights in the whole country.
	For instance, besides just the Second Amendment, here's what it says specifically in Article 2, Section 6 of the New Mexico State Constitution.
	No law shall abridge the right of the citizen to keep and bear arms for security and defense, for lawful hunting and recreational use, and for other lawful purposes.
	But nothing herein shall be held to permit the carrying of concealed weapons.
	No municipality or county shall regulate in any way an incident of the right to keep and bear arms." And as such, over in the state of New Mexico, you do not need a permit to buy a gun.
	You don't need to register your gun once you buy it.
	You don't need a license to open carry.
	And the only thing that you need a permit for is to conceal carry.
	And that particular permit is relatively easy to get, compared to other states.
	However, since there are criminals who have been misusing guns, the governor has decided to suspend the rights of everyone in the most populous county in the state, stopping them from being able to carry their guns for self-defense over the next 30 days.
	Or just four weeks to flatten the curve of gun violence, if you will.
	Now, during a press conference following this decision of hers, a reporter asked Ms.
	Grisham about the oath that she took when she became governor to uphold the Constitution and the law of the land, to which she replied that the Constitution is not absolute.
	Take a listen.
	By the way, as you're listening to her statement, notice the level of, I guess you can call it, mental gymnastics in the governor's logic when she attempts to explain why law-abiding citizens might need to be arrested in order to stop the criminals.
	If someone got a concealed carry permit in Albuquerque walking down the public street, they're not going to get arrested.
	I can make the point that maybe they should be.
	And this is the point.
	I'm willing to do anything and everything within a shred of evidence based effort.
	Because if you're not horrified That on any street corner in too many cities in New Mexico, there is someone with a gun sticking out of their waist or their belt.
	And I'll tell you, if you're a young person, you're not allowed to have a handgun.
	I got it.
	But we won't be able to arrest all of them.
	So imagine, just in a perfect world, If this was upheld, it gives all of these police officers the ability to focus on the real criminals.
	Last follow-up.
	But your point is valid.
	You took an oath to the Constitution.
	Isn't it unconstitutional to say you cannot exercise your carry license?
	With one exception.
	And that is, if there's an emergency, and I've declared an emergency for a temporary amount of time, I can invoke additional powers.
	No constitutional right, in my view, including my oath, Is intended to be absolute.
	There are restrictions on free speech.
	There are restrictions on my freedoms.
	Do you really think that criminals are going to hear this message and not carry a gun in Albuquerque on the streets for 30 days?
	No.
	But here's what I do think.
	It's a pretty resounding message.
	It's kind of amazing to hear a politician say the quiet part out loud.
	However, the response to the governor's decision was immediate.
	The day after she issued her order, several thousand people came out, with many of them open carrying, and they held rallies against this government edict.
	And it's worth mentioning that none of the police officers who were on site at these rallies enforced the governor's order, despite the fact that many people were very obviously brandishing firearms.
	And this lack of enforcement likely was not an accident.
	In fact, the local sheriff of Bernalillo County, which encompasses the city of Albuquerque, he came out and he issued a public statement saying that he will not be enforcing a clearly unconstitutional order from the governor.
	Take a listen.
	I have a fact for you.
	Criminals do not follow the law Or a public health order.
	Is there a realistic way to enforce this order?
	No, there is not because we'll cut that conversation off because it's unconstitutional.
	So there's no way we could enforce that order.
	Then, even during an interview over on CNN, the governor was grilled by the host who questioned her on where exactly this supposed authority came from to negate the rights of Americans.
	Take a look.
	Same because those are kids.
	There are kids who shouldn't be shot.
	It's disgusting.
	But we also have, Governor, the Constitution of New Mexico and the Constitution of the United States, and you're an attorney.
	Do you think you're on solid constitutional ground here?
	Well, we're going to see.
	I mean, look, I wouldn't do it if I didn't think I had the right.
	I have the right.
	Where is the right?
	Where is the right?
	In the state of New Mexico.
	Public health, it's a suspension.
	It's not a ban.
	And we'll see what all of these court actions do.
	And I did say publicly, Poppy, look, I got a Supreme Court that says my personal bodily autonomy can be restricted.
	And yet NRA and other issues on the Second Amendment keeps getting broadened.
	So the Bruin case in New York, right, that deals with concealed carry and cases in Texas that say you can be a drug drug.
	You bring up the Bruin case, the Supreme Court last year.
	Let me just ask you this, because the Supreme Court last year totally changed what we're allowed to do, what you're allowed to do.
	And they said, unless you can base it in the history and tradition, you don't have grounds to do something like this.
	The New Mexico Constitution, I looked last night, Article 2, Section 6, says this, quote, No law shall abridge the right of citizens to keep and bear arms for security and defense.
	No municipality or county shall regulate in any way any incident of the right to keep and bear arms.
	Are you not in violation of both the US Constitution and your state's constitution?
	I don't believe that we are.
	And if that narrow reading of the Constitution, which has been tested in the state, we wouldn't have universal background checks.
	We wouldn't have a waiting period.
	We wouldn't have a red flag law.
	We wouldn't have prohibitions for straw purchases.
	None of those would have been deemed constitutional.
	And today, all of them are.
	They were before the Supreme Court ruled that.
	Fair, but they haven't been tested again.
	Okay.
	And so for law enforcement, and I understand they're...
	When even CNN turns on you, you know that it's rough.
	Furthermore, on the legal front, both the Gun Owners of America, as well as the National Association for Gun Rights, they have already filed lawsuits against the governor in order to, among other things, get a court order to immediately block the implementation of this particular executive order.
	Here's part of what the lawsuit from the National Association for Gun Rights said: "The state must justify the Kerry prohibition by demonstrating that it is consistent with the nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation.
	But it is impossible for the state to meet this burden because there is no such historical tradition of firearms regulation in this nation." Furthermore, the president of this organization, Mr.
	Dudley Brown, who, by the way, we've interviewed on our program before, he issued a statement.
	saying that the governor's decision is essentially a middle finger to both the U.S. Constitution as well as to the U.S. Supreme Court.
	Quote, Her executive order is in blatant disregard for the Supreme Court decision, New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruin.
	She needs to be held accountable for stripping the God-given rights of millions away with a stroke of a pen.
	It's really a strange world to live in when you have the host over at CNN agreeing with the head of one of the largest gun rights organizations in the country.
	Regardless, besides this legal trouble, well, the governor is also facing backlash from the state legislature.
	In fact, soon after the governor published her order, two Republican state lawmakers began calling for her impeachment.
	Here was part of a statement that was released by Ms.
	Stephanie Lord, a New Mexico state representative.
	She's a Republican, and here's what she said.
	This is an abhorrent attempt at imposing a radical progressive agenda on an unwilling populace.
	Rather than addressing crime at its core, Governor Grisham is restricting the rights of law-abiding gun owners.
	Now, given the fact that the current New Mexico House is overwhelmingly Democrat, this impeachment process is likely not going to go anywhere.
	But you never know.
	The New Mexico State House is currently out of session until January, and so if an impeachment proceeding were to take place, they would have to call a special legislative session.
	And if that winds up happening, I'll give you that update as it does.
	Otherwise, as you can see from this multifaceted blowback, The governor seems to have really stepped into what you can only call a political landmine, with even some of the biggest online anti-gun advocates, like David Hogg, calling this plan unconstitutional.
	And so that is currently what's taking place over in New Mexico.
	The lawsuits are currently working their way through the court system, but even as they are, the local police and sheriffs appear to not be enforcing the order.
	It's almost like the entire state has essentially rebelled against the governor.
	If you'd like to go through any of my research notes for today's episode, I'll throw all those links.
	They'll be down in the description box below this video for you to peruse at your own leisure.
	And then lastly, you might not know this, but on the very same day that Joe Biden was sworn into office by some magical cosmic coincidence, on that very same day, YouTube made the decision to demonetize our channel.
	Since January 10th of 2021, we have not been able to run ads before, during, or after our program, the Super Chat feature has been disabled, and our reach has just essentially nosedived.
	Now every few months, on the back end of this channel, I appeal that decision, which for the past three years has been rejected.
	And the reason for the rejection is that the system claims some channel associated with our account grossly violated YouTube's policy.
	They never tell us which channel, which piece of content, or which YouTube policy.
	Furthermore, every single one of our channels receives that very same message.
	Meaning, every channel has been denied monetization because the system claims one of the other channels violated a content policy.
	It's beautiful how this type of censorship works.
	Also, just last week, I learned that YouTube has in fact been running ads in front of some of my videos.
	For instance, multiple people told me that this episode here has pre-roll ads in front of it.
	And that is frankly amazing, because for one, we don't get any money from those ads because we're denied monetization.
	But then secondly, YouTube claims that our channel is not advertiser-friendly, and so they refuse to monetize us.
	But they still run ads in front of our content.
	They just don't pay us for it.
	It's almost like being advertiser-friendly has nothing to do with it, and it's that actually they're trying to use purse strings to control what we do and do not say.
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	Stay informed.

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