Is Lujan Grisham Gunning for Another White House Post?
Biden Launches "Office of Gun Violence Prevention" Weeks After Gov's Gun Ban
Even Democrats were left scratching their heads earlier this month when New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham declared a “public health emergency” to prohibit law-abiding citizens from carrying firearms in public.
The gun ban instantly went viral, citizens took to the streets to protest the executive order, law enforcement refused to enforce it, and the courts immediately suspended the ban. Few politicians have done as much to raise the profile of Second Amendment rights in such a short time as Grisham has in September 2023.
What was she thinking?
The governor admitted during a press conference that criminals wouldn’t abide, so people knew right away the ban wasn’t about preventing gun violence. Many assumed it was a party-orchestrated trial balloon to see how amenable the public would be to executive efforts to whittle away at the U.S. Constitution, which it very well may have been. The fact that she punted on calls for a special legislative session on gun violence indicates she’s either not as serious about the problem as she claims (and not half as serious as she was about legalizing marijuana), or that she fears members of her own party might back ongoing impeachment efforts.
But then news drops that President Joe Biden was creating an “Office of Gun Violence Prevention,” and suddenly a method emerges behind the governor’s apparent madness.
Grisham has been gunning (no pun intended) for a White House post for years. First it was rumored that she could be picked as Biden’s vice president. Then it was secretary of Interior. Then secretary of Health and Human Services. None came to fruition.
Termed out in three years, Grisham may have simply been dusting off her resume in issuing the gun ban, hoping to draw enough attention to earn Biden’s nod for the newly created gun czar post.
The job sounds perfect for Grisham. It would entail overseeing a minuscule budget and running PR for mostly performative gun legislation, which is ideal for a career politician who loves giving speeches but struggles to effect any real change improving the well-being of the citizenry.
I think I speak for at least half of New Mexicans in wishing Grisham good fortune in this newest employment endeavor. Maybe the fourth time’s the charm.