'Red flag' resolution approved

During a Quay County Commission meeting so crowded with spectators it was moved from its usual chambers to a district courtroom upstairs, commissioners on Monday unanimously approved the sheriff's request for a resolution that declares the county's opposition to the New Mexico's newly enacted red-flag gun law.

Sheriff Russell Shafer requested the resolution, which declared the county's opposition to the state's Extreme Risk Protection Order Act that takes effect in mid-May. The law allows household members and law enforcement officers to ask a court for an order to temporarily take weapons and ammunition from someone who is making violent threats against himself or herself or others. The court would be required to hold a hearing within 15 days, and the weapons and ammunition would be returned when the order expires.

Shafer also shepherded a Second Amendment Sanctuary County resolution in February 2019 through the county commission - the first New Mexico County to do so - in response to the New Mexico Legislature's attempts to pass more gun-control bills.

The commission chambers in the Quay County Courthouse typically does not hold more than 20 people. People filled every available seat in the chamber, and dozens more spilled out into the hallway.

Shortly after calling the meeting to order, commission Chairman Franklin McCasland adjourned so they could move the meeting into the more spacious 10th District courtroom upstairs. Court was not in session at the time.

Before taking a vote, McCasland asked those in the audience to raise their hands if they supported the resolution that opposes the red-flag law. Dozens of hands shot up, and McCasland asked Shafer to count them. He reported a total of 63. Shafer said he also received four letters of support from residents who were unable to attend Monday's meeting.

McCasland then asked anyone to raise their hand if they opposed the resolution. Not one hand was raised.

The eight-paragraph resolution states "the law does not provide sufficient due process, creates an additional burden on the already overworked district courts and creates new responsibility that exposes law enforcement to additional dangers."

Shafer also told the commission said the law is "un-American" and unconstitutional.

"Our legal system operates on the principal that all parties are innocent until proven guilty, but under red flag laws, the accused are assumed to be guilty from the start and required to prove their innocence," Shafer said in his prepared remarks. "So a mere accusation, even unsubstantiated, is enough to tribe the suspension of fundamental civil rights."

Shafer said the cost for someone to hire a lawyer to contest a court order would be up to $3,000.

Shafer said in an interview with the Quay County Sun a year ago he was open to red-flag legislation if it reduced the number of suicides, but only if such laws maintained constitutional protections.

McCasland and fellow commissioners Sue Dowell and Mike Cherry thanked residents for attending the meeting. Dowell also thanked Quay County law enforcement: "I think what's happened has dragged you through some tough times."

Cherry made a motion to approve the resolution, and Dowell seconded it. After commissioners formally approved it, the audience applauded.

Shafer acknowledged during his presentation the red-flag opposition faces "an uphill battle to fight this." The New Mexico Sheriffs Association has vowed to file a lawsuit against the measure, alleging it violates the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Red-flag laws have been passed in 18 states and the District of Columbia. Courts in Indiana, Florida and Connecticut have upheld the constitutionality of red-flag laws similar to New Mexico's. A fourth lawsuit filed against Nevada's red-flag law is pending.

After the resolution vote, the commission adjourned and reconvened as usual in its chambers.

Kathy Elliott, a partner for the Harden & Associates lobbying firm that represents the county, added later in the meeting that "many of our counties are worried about retaliation for opposing the governor's agenda." Passing a red-flag law was a main priority for Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.