Lawmakers should convene extraordinary session on crime, whether gov is on board or not

Following her unilateral diktat on Sept. 8 to ban all citizens — except for police and licensed security guards — from carrying firearms anywhere in Bernallio County for 30 days, the governor announced a revised public health order on Friday . Lujan Grisham said the amended gun ban will now only apply to “public parks and playgrounds” in Albuquerque and Bernalillo County.

The governor’s withdrawal of the wider ban comes after a national backlash and after U.S. District Judge David Urias sided with Second Amendment rights supporters on Wednesday and issued a temporary restraining order preventing the enforcement of the wider gun ban.

It’s worth noting that Democratic majorities in the state House and Senate rejected numerous proposals to fight crime in the 2023 session. House Republicans on Friday issued a call for action on 10 crime bills that were introduced in the recent session by House Republicans, but which were killed by Democratic lawmakers, even though some of those bills had bipartisan support.

House Bill 509 would have provided a clear process for presenting cases when the defendant should be detained prior to trial. The pretrial detention presumption was killed in its first committee.

House Joint Resolution 9 would have allowed the Legislature to set conditions under which defendants may be denied bail. It was killed in its second committee.

House Bill 58 would have added 12 additional violent offenses to the list of qualifying charges for New Mexico’s 3 Strikes Law. It was killed in its first committee.

House Bill 59 would have made the unlawful carrying of a firearm while trafficking a controlled substance a third-degree felony. It was killed in its first committee.

House Bill 60 would have created a sentencing enhancement for fentanyl possession: three years for 24-49 pills, five years for 50-74 pills, and seven years for greater than 75 pills. It was killed in its first committee.

House Bill 61 would have increased the sentence for a felon being in possession of a firearm from three years to six years, and up to six years if the felony offense constituted a violent offense. It was killed in its first committee.

House Bill 155 would have made the crime of aggravated battery against a peace officer a second-degree felony — punishable by nine years and up to $10,000 fine — instead of a third-degree felony punishable by three years in prison and a $5,000 fine, if the battery inflicts great bodily harm or is done with a deadly weapon or in any way that inflicts great bodily harm or death. It passed the House by a 61-0 vote, but died in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

House Bill 341 would have required courts to determine if a criminal may require drug, alcohol, or mental health treatment, and order the defendant to seek that treatment. It died in the House Health & Human Services Committee.

House Bill 458 would have increased the penalty for a felon in possession of a firearm or destructive device from three years imprisonment to five years imprisonment, and seven years for a violent felon. It never got a hearing.

House Bill 485 would have enhanced penalties for sexual exploitation of children. It was killed in its first committee.

House Republicans on Friday called on the governor to immediately convene a special session to address crime.

“Our caucus has been fighting to address this growing crisis only to be ignored by Democrats in the Legislature,” said House Minority Floor Leader Ryan Lane, R-Aztec. “If Democrats are truly serious about crime, then let’s come back to Santa Fe and quickly pass these bills.”

But in true form, Lujan Grisham said Friday she has no plans yet to call a special session on crime.

“That has been requested by a couple of folks,” the governor said in answer to a question at Friday’s news conference. “A special session, any session, is warranted when we need an immediate answer in a special (session) that’s going to change the status quo.”

So, violent crime is bad enough to abuse public health powers and ban guns, but not serious enough to involve lawmakers. The governor continues to prefer to go it alone.

House Republicans said they are prepared to circulate a petition to convene an extraordinary session on crime. Lawmakers from both parties should sign that petition and convene an extraordinary session, whether the governor is on board or not.

Lujan Grisham can’t be relied upon to lead a crime-fighting effort. She’s too partisan, too unpopular with state lawmakers, too self-absorbed, too interested in scoring political points, too discredited now on the national stage after her unconstitutional overreach, and too politically ambitious on a national level to shape solid bipartisan solutions that could really make a difference here in New Mexico.

Lawmakers need to take the lead and actually earn the salaries they whine about not making. They have the authority to call an extraordinary session, pass meaningful crime legislation, and override any veto of the governor in the next regular session.

But do they have the will?

After all, there’s really no need for a New Mexico House of Representatives or Senate — salaried or unsalaried — if lawmakers are acquiescent to the governor and generally feckless.

Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen said he wouldn’t enforce the governor’s gun ban. District Attorney Sam Bregman said he wouldn’t prosecute any cases resulting from it. Attorney General Raùl Torrez told the governor his office wouldn’t defend any of the lawsuits challenging the gun ban. Chaves County Sheriff Mike Herrington said he wouldn’t enforce it if it applied in his jurisdiction. Even CNN was dubious of the governor’s gun ban during an interview with her Tuesday.

Going it alone may seem like the easiest path for the governor — whether it be the coronavirus pandemic, CYFD reform, upending standardized testing in schools, spending more than $1 billion in federal pandemic funds, electric vehicle mandates or banning guns. But when you go it alone, there’s no one behind you. Not even CNN.