Gov. focused national attention on gun violence

BY MARTIN CHAVEZ ALBUQUERQUE RESIDENT

In the wake of the murder of an 11-year-old leaving a baseball game, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham focused national attention on gun violence in Albuquerque. The federal court ruled her emergency power didn’t extend to a 30-day hold on guns in public, but agreed with her that gun violence is a crisis.

That’s right, we are in a crisis.

The reaction of people best situated to remediate the crisis — Mayor (Tim) Keller, DA (Sam) Bregman and AG (Raúl) Torrez – was to say, “No way, not constitutional, won’t enforce it,” while offering little or no solutions addressing this public health emergency.

Mayor Keller went so far as to allow masked protestors with automatic weapons to gather on the Civic Plaza, a federally posted no-gun zone. News flash: mayors can’t suspend federal criminal statutes. That same day, another Albuquerque resident was murdered.

I’m pleased to be helping Gov. Lujan Grisham get federal infrastructure dollars into our communities but sometimes, the old mayor in me has to say something.

New Mexico now has the third-highest rate of gun violence in the nation. When I left office in 2009, APD had approximately 1,100 police officers.

Now, we have 100 fewer police officers today than we did 14 years ago.

It’s unsurprising that gun deaths are the leading cause of death of children here. I’m glad the governor shined the spotlight on Albuquerque. I deeply regret that it was necessary.

Our police need our support, and they’re just not getting it.

The governor has done more than focus attention. She appropriated $50 million for local communities to hire and retain police officers. She dedicated more funding for public safety in four years than her predecessor did in eight. APD received $394,000 from the Law Enforcement Retention Fund but failed to apply for more this year.

Gov. Lujan Grisham unequivocally believes law enforcement doing the work on the ground deserves more support – and she’s bringing it. The Robbery and Organized Retail Crime package she signed last year gives law enforcement and prosecutors valuable tools to combat retail crime.

Public safety is a complex problem with few easy answers. It starts with our children and includes good schools, wholesome meals, supportive adults, behavioral health and addiction treatment services, and good jobs.

The governor is doing all of that work, too – free and healthy school meals, universal Pre-K, tuition-free college and dramatically broadened support for postpartum mothers. But we cannot reject a key piece of the puzzle: bad actors have to be held accountable.

So let’s share our governor’s outrage, heed her plea and get serious about gun violence in Albuquerque.

As a gun owner myself, I respectfully suggest that the response to the slaughter of an 11-year-old should never be, “Yes, it’s tragic, but what about my ability to show up fully armed in a school zone on the Civic Plaza if I want to make a point?”

When a 1-year-old died during my tenure, we flooded the neighborhood with police. Got a broken tail light or fail to signal a turn? You got stopped. After that legal stop, got an outstanding warrant? Go straight to jail. But you can’t do that unless you have police.

We can’t keep doing what we’re doing. It’s not working. We’re too good for that and Gov. Lujan Grisham knows it.

Martin Chavez was mayor of Albuquerque from 1993-97 and 200109. He also served in the New Mexico Senate from 1989 to 1993.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announces a scaled back version of her administration’s gun ban during a Sept. 15 news conference.

JON AUSTRIA/JOURNAL