Last September, Democratic New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham attempted to unilaterally impose strict gun control in the city of Albuquerque with executive action and a dubious public health order that banned the carrying of firearms, whether licensed or otherwise, throughout most of the metropolitan area.
Now, making good on their initial threat of consequences for that unconstitutional act, two Republican lawmakers in the state legislature have filed an impeachment resolution to have Gov. Grisham removed from office, Fox News reported.
The governor's emergency order, which was substantially walked back and narrowed following the sharp criticism it received, has nonetheless been allowed by a court to take partial effect in its more limited form while multiple legal challenges against it remain pending.
According to Fox News, the impeachment resolution against Gov. Grisham was filed on Wednesday by New Mexico State Reps. John Block and Stefani Lord, both of whom have loudly protested that the governor's order was a gross violation and infringement of the fundamental rights of New Mexican citizens.
"The rights of New Mexicans are not up for debate, and no matter how hard Lujan Grisham tries to violate the Constitution, she will never succeed," Lord told the media outlet.
She added, "I stood firm against her tyranny when she tried to use a Covid health order to take our guns, and I will continue to stand firm against her continued attempts to destroy our Republic."
In a social media post, Block shared a photo of the resolution and wrote, "Today, @Lord4NM and I officially filed articles of impeachment against @GovMLG for her malfeasance in office by flagrantly breaking her oath to the Constitution by infringing upon New Mexicans’ inalienable rights."
🚨 Today, @Lord4NM and I officially filed articles of impeachment against @GovMLG for her malfeasance in office by flagrantly breaking her oath to the Constitution by infringing upon New Mexicans’ inalienable rights. In the coming days, the articles will be available on the NM… pic.twitter.com/aT4zi7Dqkm
— Rep. John Block (@RepBlock) January 17, 2024
Local media outlet KRQE reported on the filing of the impeachment resolution against Gov. Grisham by Reps. Block and Lord, who had vowed to do so when the governor first announced her gun control order last September following a recent uptick in gun violence across the state.
Unfortunately for those two GOP lawmakers, the odds of success for their effort to impeach the Democratic governor appear to be rather small, given that Democrats maintain majority control of both chambers of the New Mexico legislature.
In order to achieve their goal of ousting Grisham from office, the Republican minority will need to first convince a majority of the House to pass the resolution and then convince two-thirds of the Senate to vote to convict the governor in a trial presided over by state Supreme Court Chief Justice Shannon Bacon.
Rep. Lord told KRQE of prior comments from the governor in defense of her order, "When Governor Lujan Grisham, when she said that her oath is not absolute, that opened her up to impeachment," and added, "So we had started that process through the summer, and now we are bringing it back now."
Rep. Block said to the outlet, "What she said is so inexcusable, it would be hard for even the best attorney on planet earth to save her."
The governor's office said in a statement that it was ready to "fight" back against what it described as "embarrassing" efforts by the legislators who were "more interested in political stunts" than serving their communities, and added dismissively, "There’s not much to say in direct response to this inane effort."
