Actions: [8] HGEIC/HJC-HGEIC
Scheduled: Not Scheduled
House Resolution3 (HR3) is a Resolution, constituting Articles of Impeachment of Michell Lujan Grisham , Governor and also, being a recitation of the grounds upon which the House of Representatives finds that Michell Lujan Grisham has committed acts that warrant impeachment and trial in the Senate pursuant to Sections 35 and 36 of Article 4 of the Constitution of New Mexico and providing for Notice of Impeachment and the prosecution of impeachment.Legislation Overview:
House Resolution 3 (HR3) constitutes a Resolution containing Articles of Impeachment of Michell Lujan Grisham, Governor, and a recitation of the grounds upon which the House of Representatives finds that Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has committed acts that warrant impeachment and trial in the Senate pursuant to Sections 35 and 36 of Article 4 of the Constitution of New Mexico. The Resolution, also provides for notice of impeachment and the prosecution of impeachment to the Governor. After a brief outline of Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s electoral history of attaining the Governorship of New Mexico, of which her second term began on January 1, 2023, the Resolution states that: On September 7, 2023, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham issued Executive Order 2023-130, declaring a state of public health emergency due to gun violence effective through October 6, 2023. The Resolution (HR3) provides in the Articles of Impeachment that Governor Grisham, by her issuance of Executive Order 2023-130 and her direction to issue a September 8, 2023 Public Health Order, the Governor abridged the fundamental rights of law-abiding New Mexico citizens under the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article 2, Section 6 of the Constitution of New Mexico. The Resolution states that Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham's actions are in contravention to her oath of office, in which she swore to support the Constitution and the laws of the State and to faithfully and impartially discharge the duties of her office. The Resolution sites Article 4, Sections 35 and 36 of the New Mexico Constitution which empowers the New Mexico House of Representatives to impeach state officers by a majority vote and refer to the New Mexico Senate for trial. In support of the Resolution for Impeachment, a list of eight Articles of Impeachment are provided in HR3. They are hereby directly provided as in the Resolution: “ARTICLE 1 Michelle Lujan Grisham violated Article 2, Section 6 of the constitution of New Mexico by issuing Executive Order 2023-130 and directing issuance of the September 8, 2023 public health order; and ARTICLE 2 Michelle Lujan Grisham directed modification of the September 8, 2023 public health order in a manner that continued to violate Article 2, Section 6 of the constitution of New Mexico; and. 1 ARTICLE 3 Michelle Lujan Grisham violated the second amendment to the United States constitution by issuing Executive Order 2023-130 and directing issuance of the September 8, 2023 public health order; and ARTICLE 4 Michelle Lujan Grisham directed modification of the September 8, 2023 public health order in a manner that continued to violate the second amendment to the United States constitution; and ARTICLE 5 Michelle Lujan Grisham inappropriately used the public health emergency process established pursuant to the Public Health Emergency Response Act and the All-Hazard Emergency Management Act to strip citizens of their constitutional rights to keep and bear arms; and ARTICLE 6 Michelle Lujan Grisham misused public resources entrusted to her by directing the department of public safety to enforce the provisions of the unconstitutional public health order as it was issued on September 8, 2023 and as it was further modified on September 15, 2023; and ARTICLE 7 Michelle Lujan Grisham coerced political subdivisions to engage in conduct that is contrary to rights established in Article 2, Section 6 of the constitution of New Mexico or the second amendment to the United States constitution by requiring all political subdivisions to comply with and enforce all directives issued pursuant to Executive Order 2023-130; and ARTICLE 8 Michelle Lujan Grisham abused the public trust and the confidence placed in her by the people through the acts described in these articles”. The Resolution instructs the Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives to provide a Notice of Impeachment to the Governor and by reference to Article 4, Section 36, she is to no longer exercise any powers or duties of her office until she is acquitted by the New Mexico Senate. The Resolution states that Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham directed the Department of Health, the Homeland Security and Emergency Management Department and the Department of Public Safety to immediately begin collaborating with her office "to provide an effective and coordinated response to this public health emergency”. The Secretary of Health issued a Public Health Order to state: “prohibiting any person, other than a law enforcement officer or licensed security officer, from possessing a firearm, "either openly or concealed", within certain municipalities and counties and subject to certain exceptions relating to use of firearms on private property or on the premises of licensed firearms dealers or gunsmiths, firing ranges or sports shooting competitions”. The Public Health Order directed the Department of Public Safety to coordinate with local law enforcement, and district attorneys including the assignment of additional officers to Bernalillo County. On September 13, 2023, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order against the firearm prohibition imposed in the Public Health Order, which led to a modification of the Public Health Order on September 15, 2023 which according to the Resolution “applied a prohibition on the carrying of firearms, "either openly or concealed", within certain public spaces”. The Resolution proceeds to describe New Mexico as a State of the United States, subject to the Second Amendment and that the New Mexico Constitution provides for its citizens rights in which: .."[n]o law shall abridge the right of the citizen to keep and bear arms for security and defense, for lawful hunting and recreational use and for other lawful purposes, but nothing herein shall be held to permit the carrying of concealed weapons. No municipality or county shall regulate, in any way, an incident of the right to keep and bear arms”. The Resolution then provides that: “by her issuance of Executive Order 2023-130 and her direction to issue the September 8, 2023, public health order, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham abridged the fundamental rights of law-abiding New Mexico citizens under the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article 2, Section 6 of the Constitution of New Mexico. Further the Resolution states that “Michelle Lujan Grisham's actions are in contravention to her oath of office, in which she swore to support the constitution and the laws of the state and to faithfully and impartially discharge the duties of her office”. As referenced above, the right to bear arms is protected by Article II, Section 6 of the New Mexico Constitution. This right is broader than the right to bear arms in the federal constitution. The right to bear arms is not absolute and can be regulated by the legislature. Local governments cannot regulate the right to bear arms.