This is a rush transcript from the Todd Starnes Show. Listen live from 12 p.m. – 3 p.m. or download the free podcast by click here.
STARNES: This just coming in from New Mexico. So now we have the sheriff down there in Bernalillo County. Sheriff John Allen says his office is not going to enforce the governor’s new gun law. Let’s take a listen.
SHERIFF: [01:10:59] As we all know, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham issued an emergency temporarily suspending open and concealed carry laws for the next 30 days in Bernalillo County. Let me start by saying I’m holding this press conference and to answer many other people’s questions, not only in social media, but directly to my phone. One, this is not grandstanding, nor is this to bring attention to myself. We must always remember not only are we protecting the Second Amendment, but at the same time we have a lot of violence within our community.
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Let me be clear. I hold my standards high and I do not or never will hedge on what is right. And I take my oath seriously in reference to concealed carry and open carry. The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office will not enforce this segment of the order. While I understand the urgency, the temporary ban challenges the foundations of our Constitution, but most importantly, it is unconstitutional. My oath was to protect the Constitution, and that is what I will do.
The governor made it clear in her press conference she knew we, as law enforcement, did not agree with the order. And as a result, this was solely her decision. Other than this ban being unconstitutional, here are other reasons why I will not enforce the order. One what many forget is I have enough violence here in Bernalillo County. I do not want to have political violence towards my deputies or here in Bernalillo County.
My job is to keep the peace and to make sure that the citizens of Bernalillo County are safe. And I do not believe that this order will help me do so. I’m a law enforcement professional. This order will not do anything to curb gun violence other than punish law abiding citizens from their constitutional right to self-defense.
STARNES: [01:12:54] All right. Good for you, Sheriff. We appreciate you. And we can only hope that other sheriffs around the state of New Mexico rise up and do the exact same thing. And they simply cannot enforce something they know to be unconstitutional.
So I say good for you and I say good for the law abiding gun owners in New Mexico because they went out Sunday and they did the most American thing you could possibly do. They were told it was now against the law to carry a weapon in public, even if they had a legal license or permit. And you know what these folks did by the hundreds? They showed up in public with their weapons. That is an American thing. And that just that gives me encouragement that we’ve got so many patriots there in New Mexico. But we need more people to do that and we need them to do that by the thousands, not by the hundreds, but by the thousands. So I say good for you. Good for you people there in Albuquerque.
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Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen says he will *not* enforce Gov. Lujan Grisham’s (D) 30-day ban on carrying guns in public spaces:
— The Recount (@therecount) September 11, 2023
“This order will not do anything to curb gun violence other than punish law-abiding citizens from their constitutional right to self defense.” pic.twitter.com/J6pazim4JU