Letters to the Editor (Sept. 21, 2023)

NMLIVE here to help 

Editor: 

Mr. Ortega’s recent letter, “Veterans Deserve Better,” is excellent regarding our veterans.  

As president of “NMLIVE, INC” (Los Lunas Invests in Veteran Events), we have been financially supporting all the veteran organizations within Los Lunas and Valencia County for the past 12 years. These great veteran organizations work closely with area veterans and are well aware of each persons history and experiences including their families. 

As American citizens, let us all be thankful for these veteran contributions for our freedom and never remove their financial benefits but in turn we should be increasing these benefits as a thank you for their services.  

  

Jim Schnitzler 

President, NMLIVE, INC. 

  

It’s about more than guns 

Editor: 

A firestorm erupted over … the guns and drugs public health order. This is more than a Second Amendment or gun rights issue. 

Consider these five possible legal arguments against the PHO: 

1. The PHO exceeds the powers granted by the Public Health Act. The PHO declares the existence of a “condition of public health importance” under the Public Health Act based on gun violence and drug abuse. But look at the definition of that “condition” in Section 24-1-2(A), NMSA 1978 and you will see words like “infection,” “disease,” and “injury,” Declaring a public health emergency based on gun violence and drugs takes the PHA too far.
2. The PHO violates the U.S. Constitution’s due process clause. States can not “deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law[.]” The limitations on concealed carry deprive concealed carry permit holders of at least part of the benefit of that permit without legal process.
3. The PHO violates the U.S. Constitution’s equal protection clause. States can not “deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” The PHO only applies in Bernalillo County. Why are people in Bernalillo County treated differently?
4. The PHO violates the New Mexico Constitution’s due process and equal protection clauses. Article 2, Section 18 contain New Mexico’s version of the due process and equal protection clauses — and courts can interpret our state constitutional provisions to provide more protection than the federal versions.
5. The PHO violates separation of powers. The New Mexico Constitution limits members of one branch of government from exercising powers belonging to another branch. The PHO stops CYFD’s Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative and requires development of a testing system for school wastewater. Does that sound like lawmaking to you? And lawmaking is the Legislature’s job.

Whatever your position on guns, shouldn’t it mean something if a PHO exceeds the limits of a statute, or violates constitutional rights, or invades the Legislature’s lawmaking power? 

This is about more than guns. This is about the government of we, the people. 

  

Jonathan Gardner 

Los Lunas