Los Angeles (USA).- The governor of the state of New Mexico (USA), Michelle Lujan Grisham, issued an emergency executive order this Friday suspending the right to carry firearms in public spaces of the city of Albuquerque, and in the surrounding Bernalillo county, for the next 30 days.
“I welcome the debate and the fight on how to make New Mexicans safer,” said Lujan during the press conference in which he announced the measure, after ensuring that it has opened an intense debate within the forces and bodies. security of this state located in the south of the United States.
The decision, which came into effect this Friday, comes after the number of shootings has increased in New Mexico in recent weeks and just one day after the death of an 11-year-old boy after being hit by a bullet the day before. from a baseball game in Albuquerque.
In fact, this event caused the governor to define the situation in Bernalillo as an “epidemic of armed violence” on Thursday, where an average of more than 1,000 violent crimes have been recorded per 100,000 inhabitants.
Those who do not comply with this executive order, which will also set aside $750,000 in emergency funds to protect public health, could face fines of up to $5,000.
The measure will allow those people with permission to carry concealed firearms to transport them to shooting ranges or specialized stores, as long as they have insurance or other security mechanisms that make an unexpected discharge impossible.
Lujan Grisham has signed a series of laws over the past four years that restrict access to guns, including a “red flag” law that empowers authorities to ask a court to temporarily remove guns from people who are likely to be harmed by them. to other people or to themselves. EFE
