On Sunday morning, 19 July, 2020, a kindergarten teacher was organizing a Black New Mexico Movement protest at the Civic Plaza in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He had a firearm holstered across his chest. Police say he refused to disarm after they told him firearms were banned at the Plaza. A few minutes latter they arrested him and two other armed men who were with him.
Grady complained that members of the New Mexico Civil Guard, who attended a Protest for Freedom rally at the Civic Plaza on Friday, July 17, and were armed, were not arrested.
The 40-year-old kindergarten teacher was helping set the stage for a Black New Mexico Movement protest at Civic Plaza one Sunday morning in mid-July, his gun holstered across his chest.
A short time later, Francisco “Frankie” Grady was handcuffed and then cited for having a firearm on city property. He was subsequently charged with unlawful carrying of a deadly weapon on school premises, a fourth-degree felony that now follows him on his record, even though there is no school in sight at Civic Plaza.
A quick look at the video of the rally on the 17th of July did not show any openly armed people there. There are plenty of black people at the rally. The rally did not get much press. It looked to be pretty high energy.
The police said that the New Mexico Civil Guard had been warned to disarm, and they had done so.
As of 23 August, all of the charges against the trio of black men arrested on 19 July had been dropped.
The police spokesman said the three arrested on 19 July had been told to disarm, but had not done so.
Administrative instruction 5-20 was issued on 19 June, five days after the self defense shooting at the Juan de Oñate confrontation. The order claims Albuquerque city parks and recreation centers are "school premises" under state law banning guns in schools.
The New Mexico Patriot Advocacy Coalition filed a lawsuit challenging such a broad interpretation of the law in Administrative Orders 5-19, in September of 2019. In Order 5-19, Mayor Keller claims all of the City's Community Centers, Multigenerational Centers, and senior Centers fall under the definition of "school premises".
Mayor Keller of Albuquerque acts as if he can ban firearms anywhere in the city he wishes to. Where, in the city, is a place where school children or university students banned? Under Mayor Keller's interpretation, those are the only places the state law would not have effect.
It is difficult to know who will prevail in the New Mexico courts.
When you are dealing with people who do not acknowledge the existence of truth or objective reality, who are accustomed to changing the meaning of words to suit their political purposes, interpretation of the law to something they like, is almost reflexive.
If they do not like the right to bear arms, as protected by the United States Second Amendment and the New Mexico Constitution, the answer is simple: just declare most of your jurisdiction to be a school!
©2020 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
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