SANTA FE, N.M. — On Wednesday, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham declared the end of an emergency public health order that had prohibited the carrying of firearms in public parks and playgrounds throughout New Mexico’s largest metropolitan area.

Originally implemented in September 2023, the public health order sparked significant backlash, leading to public demonstrations, calls from Republicans for the governor’s impeachment, and deepening divisions among Democratic officials. This order also aimed to enhance controls on gun sales and address illegal drug use in schools by testing wastewater. However, it expired on Saturday without being renewed.

“I have decided to let the public health order lapse, but we will persist in our efforts to safeguard New Mexico communities from the threats of gun violence and illegal drugs,” stated Lujan Grisham.

She highlighted improvements in reducing gun violence, such as successful gun buy-back initiatives, increased law enforcement arrests, the provision of free gun-storage locks, and a rise in the inmate population at a detention center in Albuquerque.

Initially, the governor’s order proposed a complete suspension of gun-carry rights in numerous public areas in the Albuquerque vicinity. However, it was modified to apply specifically to public parks and playgrounds, with an allowance made for access to a municipal shooting range park. The governor cited a troubling series of shootings that resulted in fatalities among children as a driving reason behind her actions.

In retaliation, gun rights supporters initiated various lawsuits and court motions aimed at preventing these restrictions, arguing that the measures would infringe upon the Second Amendment rights of residents in the Albuquerque area to carry weapons in public for self-defense. The potential effects of these lawsuits in federal court remain uncertain.

These events are part of a larger trend following a 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that broadened gun rights, prompting leaders in more liberal states to seek new paths for implementing restrictions.

The gun regulations were associated with a specific violent crime statistic that was applicable solely to Albuquerque and its nearby regions, illustrating the localized nature of the governance and the ongoing debate surrounding public safety and individual rights.