Sheriff in New Mexico’s most populous county rejects governor’s gun ban, calling it unconstitutional

Wish I could say I’m surprised by the governor’s actions. She was one of the most tyrannical during lockdowns.

On a side note, I suspect that she and others are testing their authoritarian limits through these emergency acts. Hey, it worked during ‘Covid.’

 

That it’s an “executive order” makes the governors case weaker for sure. If it was signed law perhaps then you move to remove the sheriff for failing at public safety (what should be his #1 job), but with it being an executive order I would not (and I admittedly do not know what powers NM law even allows the Governor). I just know I’m inclined to NOT have governors using their powers in such ways to remove local elected officials (see our own clown in FL).

 

Seemed like a pretty questionable move by the governor to me.

 

It feels like it's unconstitutional in terms of Supreme Court rulings even if it is wise and should be constitutional by any honest acceptable method of constitutional interpretation. And while the current Supreme Court is morally illegitimate, we don't want to go down the road of giving their orders no effect without legal justification.

 

The NM should illegally round up all the guns and send them to FL. Dump them in Tallahassee and Maralago.

 

Me too, but I also think we need to consider carefully what is the proper course of action in such a situation. What is any one person justified in doing when something doesn’t seem constitutional to them?

 

It's unconstitutional under Republican SCOTUS's dictates. But I look forward to the DeSantis fans calling for this sheriff's removal, considering DeSantis removed Andrew Warren for a lesser version of this.

 

How can the Second Amendment To The Constitution not be obvious enough for her? In the darkest times of our country are when our Constitution must not be abridged in any which way... Especially by the Government.

The Constitution is there to keep the government in line... and We The People are here to make sure it stays that way... especially if our lawyers in robes (dirty judges) let us (We The People) down in the court of law.

 

The importance of following the constitution is at the heart of my argument. Does the constitution grant an individual sheriff the authority to refuse to enforce a law based on his/her own interpretation of the law’s constitutionality? If so, then certainly this is an appropriate action.

Meanwhile, it appears that you are suggesting that even if this right is not explicitly stipulated by the constitution, this sheriff holds this right implicitly if the judiciary wrongly interprets the constitution. But this just brings us back to the same problem: does a sheriff personally have the authority to determine when the judiciary’s interpretation is in error? If so, it hardly seems our government possesses any meaningful separation of powers.

 

This is actually a thing with certain right-wingers - that sheriffs are the ultimate arbiter of constitutionality in the US. Anyone that is Oathkeepers adjacent essentially subscribes to this idea.

Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association - Wikipedia

 

This NEW ORDER by the governor is an overreach and she knows it... She testing the power that she thinks she legally has. She cannot take Constitutional rights from people any more than Biden can.

The Constitution is OUR PROTECTION FROM the government...

 

Again, I don’t really disagree. My only question is who is vested with the authority to grade the governor’s test?

 

It's actually an interesting question and a debate some of our founding fathers had. Obviously, the debate wasn't about sheriffs. It was instead a debate over whether the executive branch (the president, really), for example, also had the right to interpret the Constitution and refuse to follow the judiciary's interpretation if he considered it wrong.

 

How does the Governor have any right to sign such a EO.

If the Governor signed a EO that said you need to pay $100 to help balance a state budget or face fines or jail should the LEO round people up?

 

New Mexico AG Tells Gun-Grabbing Governor She's on Her Own

 

If you think the sheriff can determine what is constitutional or not and act in such a manner, why cant the governor? They can both say they were "elected" and have that sort of "popular" backing to do so. What's the difference really. Seems like a flaw of our largely anti-democratic and federalized system, the ability of people invested with a large amount of power to determine popular will themselves and just do things that might be wildly at odds. Mix in the protestant ethos where everyone thinks they can interpret scripture and receive revelation (in this case American scripture), and you got a recipe for fun.

 

Well even the top Attorney of the state says she’s on her own.
It’s s tough situation, just because there is an EO doesn’t give cover to go against the constitution when it seems pretty clear.

 

Now it looks like they will try to impeach the Gov..

 

Does New Mexico give the governor power to remove elected county officials? I would think she only has authority over state officials.