WATCH: NM Sheriff Says Governor’s Concealed Carry Ban ‘Only Punishes Law-Abiding Citizens’

During a Monday press conference in which he made clear he would not enforce Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s (D) ban on open and concealed carry, Bernalillo Sheriff John Allen stressed the ban “only punishes law-abiding citizens.”

He made clear criminals will not adhere to the ban.

ABQ Raw published video in which Allen said, “I have a fact for you, criminals do not follow the law or a public health order. Never seen it, and we will never see criminals follow the law.”

He noted the only compliance with the ban, were it enforced, would be from the law-abiding and that compliance would put them at a disadvantage.

Sheriff Allen relayed a story about his brother, noting that his brother and a nephew were in a car which was shot at by criminals and “impacted by numerous rounds.”

Allen reacted to the shooting by asking, “How can I, as a sheriff, tell [my brother] to put his firearms away and not be able to protect himself?”

The National Shooting Sports Foundation’s (NSSF) senior vice president and general counsel, Lawrence Keane, released a statement on Grisham’s order, saying, “New Mexico’s governor does not have the authority to suspend rights protected by the Constitution for a falsely-labeled public health crisis. No where in New Mexico statute, or in regulations, does the authority exist for state officials to inspect firearm retailers. This order is devoid of any legal basis and the government of New Mexico should reconsider taking action on this unlawful order.”

Keane added, “There is no other way to say it other than the entire order is blatantly unlawful.”

Correction: An earlier version of this article identified the sheriff as Jeff Allen. His name is John Allen.