For now at least, judge permits governor’s gun restrictions at parks, playgrounds

A federal judge on Wednesday refused to halt state enforcement of temporary firearms restrictions at Albuquerque-area parks and playgrounds, marking at least a temporary win for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s attempt to combat gun violence in the state’s biggest city.

U.S. District Judge David Urias of Albuquerque ruled against gun rights associations and gun owners who sought a preliminary injunction against the firearm ban, which is set to expire Nov. 3. But Urias left the door open for a future ruling that would consider more in-depth evidence and argument from both sides.

Gun rights groups have claimed that restrictions imposed in a series of state emergency public health orders run afoul of the Second Amendment and are unfair to gun owners who want or need to protect themselves.

After Urias temporarily blocked an initial, blanket restriction on the carrying of firearms in Bernalillo County, the state narrowed the focus.

In the latest 30-day amended public health order unveiled last Friday, the restrictions were tailored to avoid prior legal snags, focusing only on parks and playgrounds. And the governor’s order cleared up what the gun rights groups argued was “vagueness” in defining where the restrictions applied.

The governor said late Wednesday she was pleased with the court’s ruling.

“While the public health order is temporary, the ruling shows that there is still a viable legal path for common-sense gun violence prevention measures in this country,” Lujan Grisham said in a news release.

The governor has based her controversial public health order on the harm of guns to children, including recent tragedies that included the fatal shooting of an 11-year-old in early September after an Isotopes baseball game.

But in keeping with the latest U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Urias considered the national historical tradition of firearms restrictions and whether the gun rights groups have proved a “substantial likelihood of success on the merits regarding their challenge to the temporary restriction.”

In his 23-page order on Wednesday, Urias concluded that the groups failed to show the substantial likelihood required for him to impose the “extraordinary” relief of issuing a preliminary injunction to stop the governor’s firearms restrictions from being enforced.

Urias wrote that whether the state of New Mexico can justify its temporary firearms restrictions as constitutional as the legal case progresses in his court “remains to be seen.”

How the state restrictions on firearms in parks and playgrounds in the Albuquerque-area will be enforced wasn’t immediately clear late Wednesday.

Holly Agajanian, chief general counsel for Lujan Grisham, said at an Oct. 3 hearing on the preliminary injunction request that New Mexico State Police would be able to enforce the ban if it were upheld. Violators would be subject to civil penalties.

Firearms and other deadly weapons are prohibited in Albuquerque parks and recreation facilities under an administration order issued in 2020 by Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller’s office. The rule excludes law enforcement officials and applies to any city property used for public school-related activities, including Civic Plaza.

About 14 parks currently fall under that order, which is being challenged in state District Court. A trial is set in that case for 2024.