ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (NEWsnet/AP) — A U.S. district judge is considering multiple requests to put on hold an order by New Mexico’s governor that suspends the right to carry firearms in Albuquerque.

A hearing was scheduled Wednesday in Albuquerque. Gun-rights groups and civil rights advocates are asking U.S. Judge David Urias to dismiss Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's public health order, alleging it infringes on civil rights afforded by the Second Amendment.

The order, issued Sept. 8, prompted lawsuits, protests and demands for the  governor to resign. Law enforcement officials in Albuquerque and surrounding Bernalillo have vowed not to enforce the order, and the state attorney general said he will not defend it and has urged the governor to change course.

Lujan Grisham has remained defiant, despite protests. The governor cited recent shootings in the state that killed children, saying something needed to be done. Even so, she acknowledges criminals would ignore the order.

Demonstrators have voiced concerns about the ability to protect themselves from violent crime in a city that has been scarred by drive-by shootings and road-rage incidents.

Top Democrats, including New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez, have suggested that the governor's time would have been better spent developing comprehensive legislation to tackle the issue.

New Mexico is an open carry state, so the governor’s order suspending the open and concealed carry of firearms affects anyone in Bernalillo County who can own a gun legally, with some exceptions. About 14,500 people in Bernalillo County had an active concealed carry license, according to an Associated Press analysis of data provided by the New Mexico Department of Public Safety for the 2023 fiscal year.

New Mexico Chiefs of Police Association said every law enforcement officer in the state shares Lujan Grisham's concerns about gun violence, but the order was the wrong way to approach the problem. The association will join others in calling for a special legislative session to tackle gun violence, said the group's head, Farmington Police Chief Steven Hebbe.

State police confirmed late Tuesday that no one has been cited for violating the governor's order.

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