Sanctuary Counties
Quay County was the first to take notice of the tyrannical mayhem early on in the session. On February 11, the county commissioners unanimously adopted a pro-gun resolution declaring they would “not authorize or appropriate government funds, resources, employees, agencies, contractors, buildings, detention centers or offices for the purposes of enforcing law that unconstitutionally infringes on the right of the people to keep and bear arms.”
In the following days, almost every single county in the state followed suit and passed similar resolutions, pledging their commitment to protect the rights of their residents. In the end, 25 of New Mexico’s 33 counties – plus more municipalities and townships – had declared their opposition to the extreme gun-control legislation being forced through the legislature.
It is clear that the anti-gun agenda of progressive Democrats opened the floodgates for an unparalleled outpouring of support for the Second Amendment. Some of the counties that issued a rebuke to Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and her Progressive cronies have historically been Democratic strongholds – making it even clearer that these are attacks on our history and way of life.
The Sanctuary County Movement, as it is otherwise known, highlights just how disconnected Santa Fe Progressives are from the rest of our state. They do not understand that our Second Amendment freedoms are our lifeline to food, sport, and survival. They will trade the lives of their fellow New Mexicans for their own petty political gains.
The following counties took the initiative and joined the Sanctuary County Initiative:
- Valencia County
- Sandoval County
- Eddy County
- Chaves County
- Otero County
- Lincoln County
- Quay County
- Union County
- Socorro County
- San Juan County
- Catron County
- Curry County
- Hidalgo County
- Sierra County
- Grant County
- Torrance County
- Rio Arriba County
- De Baca County
- Roosevelt County
- Harding County
- Luna County
- McKinley County
- Cibola County
- Mora County
- Lea County
Grant, McKinley, Rio Arriba, Sandoval, and Socorro counties played a key role in helping Michelle Lujan Grisham become governor. In her typical fashion, she shamelessly abandoned them after victory. Lujan Grisham is no different from the rest of the anti-gun Progressives in Santa Fe who will stop at nothing to make sure your guns are taken away.
It is no coincidence that nearly every county commission in our state – whether controlled by Democrats or Republicans – has chosen to stand against the Progressives’ anti-gun agenda. The massive scale of the sanctuary county movement represents the commonsense and fact-based will of the majority of New Mexicans. The far-left Progressives are the deceitful minority that weaponize scare tactics and out-of-state money.
The movement was largely the work of county sheriffs who knew the anti-gun movement would prove disastrous for the counties they were elected to protect. Sheriff Manuel Gonzales of Bernalillo County stated that he supports the Sanctuary County Movement and will not aid or condone “any effort or legislation that will infringe upon the right of law-abiding citizens and their firearms,” citing the already-comprehensive laws on the books.
We must stand with pro-Second Amendment Democratic and Republican officials, sheriffs, and community organizations and give them the support they so desperately need. They have shown courage, speaking out against a law that is clearly unconstitutional and an alarming threat to our liberty. We need to join our voices to theirs in the fight to keep our freedom.
Donate, share, and reach out to a legislator to tell them to stand up for our Second Amendment rights. And if you would like to join the battle by running for office, click here.