New Mexico Democratic attorney general won’t defend suspension of right to publicly carry guns

By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN
Associated Press

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico’s top prosecutor says he cannot undertake a defense of the governor’s public health order that suspends the right to carry firearms in public. State Attorney General Raúl Torrez said Tuesday in a letter to the governor that gun violence cannot be rebranded as a public health emergency to justify a blanket prohibition against carrying firearms. He said he agrees with the need to start a debate on the devastating impact of gun violence and urged the Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to consider whether her time would be better spent in developing comprehensive legislation instead. Demonstrators in Albuquerque are protesting the surprise order last week to temporarily suspend the right to carry firearms.