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U.S. District Court Judge David Herrera Urias declined to block
the governor's heavily criticized temporary suspension, saying
the government has an interest in protecting a vulnerable
population, "such as children" in "sensitive places" such as
playgrounds.
He ruled the motion for a preliminary injunction of the order
was denied.
Lujan Grisham in September initially issued a blanket suspension
on the right to carry guns in Albuquerque, the state's largest
city and surrounding Bernalillo County, framing it as a public
health response to deaths of children in gun violence, including
the killing of an 11-year-old boy in a road rage incident.
Amid fury from gun advocates and a ruling from Judge Urias, her
original order was frozen, and a new, tailored-down version was
made to restrict guns at just public parks and playgrounds in
the area.
Gun rights groups and some gunowners still filed lawsuits
seeking to overturn that scaled-back version which they said
would deprive Albuquerque-area residents of 2nd Amendment rights
to carry guns in public.
A spokesperson for the governor did not immediately respond to
emails seeking comment on the ruling.
The Democratic governor had previously said: "I’m going to
continue pushing to make sure that all of us are using every
resource available to put an end to this public health emergency
with the urgency it deserves."
Last month, Albuquerque's mayor Tim Keller urged Lujan Grisham
to call a special session of the state legislature on gun
violence.
But Lujan Grisham said she had no plan to call a special session
as she believed her public health order, which includes measures
on drugs and juvenile offenders, would at this time achieve more
than new legislation.
(Reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta; editing by Miral Fahmy)
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