New Mexico governor’s suspension of right to public carry ignites protests, lawsuits and debates

By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN
Associated Press

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Some demonstrators defiantly wore holstered handguns on their hips or carried rifles in a rally by gun-rights advocates, protesting New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s surprise order to suspend for 30 days the right to carry firearms after two children were recently killed in separate shootings. The rally unfolded on Albuquerque’s Civic Plaza shortly before New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez announced he cannot defend the governor’s public health order on firearms, furthering a divide between the state’s top-ranked elected Democrats. Torrez urged the governor to consider whether her time would be better spent developing comprehensive legislation. The governor’s order has ignited a firestorm. Lawsuits have been filed, along with requests to block the order.