New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has ended special restrictions on firearms retailers originally implemented during coronavirus shutdowns, after MSLF got into the fight. Second Amendment advocates celebrated this important victory in the battle over gun owners’ rights. MSLF filed a lawsuit in the federal district court of New Mexico on April 10, 2020, challenging the closure order for gun retailers and repair shops, on behalf of the National Rifle Association, Second Amendment Foundation, Firearms Policy Coalition, and the New Mexico Shooting Sports Association, along with various gun retailers and individuals.
Previously, in response to the coronavirus outbreak, Grisham had issued emergency shutdown orders for all firearms retailers. Days later, on March 28, the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security issued a memorandum classifying those businesses as essential, but Grisham’s order remained unchanged.
“Gov. Grisham overstepped her constitutional limits when she attempted to restrict New Mexicans’ right to keep and bear arms,” said Cody Wisniewski, MSLF’s lead attorney on the case. New Mexico gun control advocate, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, backed down from her gun store shutdown after MSLF filed a federal lawsuit.
MSLF agreed to voluntarily dismiss the case after gun retailers, ranges, and repair facilities were permitted to substantially reopen in the state. “We are prepared to spring back into action should Gov. Grisham attempt to reclose firearm retailers and infringe on the natural rights of New Mexicans again,” Wisniewski said.
