In its final days, Gov. Bill Richardson’s administration received the go-ahead to move the State Department of Public Safety’s DNA lab from state’s largest city to the state Capitol. But Governor-elect Susana Martinez says she will move the lab back to Albuquerque a week after she is sworn in.

The State Supreme Court said that John Denko, the cabinet secretary of DPS, has the authority to move the state DNA lab. However, the incoming administration would also have the authority to move the DNA lab.

“The move is opposed by both Republicans and Democrats, along with victims’ advocates and law enforcement,” Martinez said in a statement. “I will not be bullied into doing anything that will jeopardize cases and justice for New Mexico victims.”

Darren White, who is both Albuquerque’s director of public safety and the chair of Martinez’s Public Safety and Homeland Security & Emergency Management Search Committee, opposes the move. The state DNA lab is currently run by the Albuquerque Police Department.

According to KOB, Denko says the FBI will move the lab by the end of the week. Martinez will be sworn in on Saturday.

“As a member of law enforcement, I know that Gorden is a serious and accomplished person who will dedicate himself to ensuring New Mexico is a safer and stronger place,” Martinez said in a press release. “As secretary, he will make fighting public corruption a top priority.”

Eden supported Martinez during her gubernatorial campaign. He cut a robo-call attacking Martinez’s opponent Diane Denish where he made the oversimplified claim the Denish’s “administration gave over 50,000 driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants.”

“It is my sincere honor to serve under Governor-elect Susana Martinez,” Eden said in a press release. “As someone who has dedicated her life to law enforcement and public service, I know the Governor-elect is committed to increasing the safety and security of New Mexico’s citizens.”

Politifact found that “the state doesn’t keep track of how many licenses are issued to illegal immigrants, so all we can be sure of is that since 2003, 80,000 foreign nationals have received drivers licenses.” This includes foreign nationals who are in the country legally.

Local TV station KOAT profiled Eden earlier this year when he left his post as U.S. Marshal.

The Independent spoke with restaurant managers across the state on Monday and found that Senate bill 40, sitting on Governor Richardson’s desk waiting for a signature or a veto, was not popular among the people it would affect most.

“I just think it’s a really bad idea,” said John Nardine, the general manager at Upper Crust pizza, a restaurant near the state capitol.

Nardine said such a law would be difficult for his restaurant to deal with.

“I’m concerned about people who are already intoxicated, someone not catching it, and things getting out of control,” he said, “The probability of something like that happening is higher with this law.”

Law would put restaurants in uncomfortable position

If Gov. Bill Richardson signs the bill, restaurant owners who don’t want concealed guns in their restaurants would have to post signs forbidding firearms or tell each customer that guns are not allowed.

But Nardine said that he didn’t want to alienate any of the restaurant’s customers, so he probably wouldn’t post a sign explicitly prohibiting firearms. If the bill becomes law, he would probably have to add extra instruction to employees about concealed carry during their training, he said.

Carrying a weapon into a restaurant or bar that serves liquor, such as Maria’s restaurant on Cordova Road, would still be illegal, but that distinction could create confusion for patrons and restaurant staff.

“The average Joe isn’t aware of the difference between a beer and wine license and full dispensary license,” Al Lucero, owner of Maria’s in Santa Fe told the Independent. ”It would be a case of us asking everyone who comes in ‘Are you 21?’ and ‘Are you carrying a concealed firearm?”

Lucero said the law would be a hassle for restaurant owners.

“We have too many things to police in a restaurant as it is, [including] drunk people [and] underage people trying to drink.” “There’s too much incumbent on a restaurant owner to have another police job for us to do.”

Guns and alcohol together ‘inherently dangerous’

Supporters say that forcing them to leave their guns in their cars leaves the weapons vulnerable to being stolen.

The New Mexico Public Defenders Department agreed, in a response to the bill, that the bill “would make it less likely for handguns to be left unattended in vehicles for criminals to steal and use, and would therefore reduce the number of stolen guns on the street and bring a concomitant reduction in gun crime.”

Lucero says he understood that problem but, “that’s not reason enough to have to make a restaurant owner have to put up with concealed weapons.”

But in its response, the Department of Public Safety opposed the bill, saying, “the introduction of a firearm, legal or otherwise into an environment where alcohol is consumed is inherently dangerous.”

Restaurant Association lobbied against the bill

In addition, the New Mexico Restaurant Association fought against the measure this year and last. As Carol Wight, the executive director of the organization, wrote in an opinion piece on this site:

What if a customer comes into a restaurant with a bulge at their waistline… How do we know it’s not a gun? How do we know they have a license? Do we ask? If they don’t have a license doesn’t that put the server in a VERY awkward position? If they do have a license, are we required to check it?

…What assurances do we have that the concealed carry licensees are better equipped to handle alcohol than the general public? None?

…I do not believe that having a person on premise with a concealed weapon would make anyone feel safer.

In the video below, Lucero explains how he agrees with concealed carry, but finds problems with the proposed law.

Senate bill 40 passed the Senate 27-15, and the House by a 54-12 vote. By law, Gov. Richardson has until March 10th to sign, veto or pocket veto the bill.

]]> http://newmexicoindependent.com/48335/guns-and-booze-dont-mix-restaurant-owners-say/feed 18 http://newmexicoindependent.com/27615/aclu-sues-nm-state-police-for-racial-profiling http://newmexicoindependent.com/27615/aclu-sues-nm-state-police-for-racial-profiling#comments Fri, 15 May 2009 18:03:14 +0000 Gwyneth Doland http://newmexicoindependent.com/?p=27615 New Mexico Motor Transportation Division officers in Lordsburg have been targeting African-American truck drivers for detention, inspection and search, alleges a lawsuit filed in federal court (PDF) by the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico.

“Virtually every truck…

On Tuesday, Sen. Linda Lopez, D-Albuquerque, and chair of the Senate Rules Committee, requested that Gov. Bill Richardson reconsider his refusal to allow the Department of Public Safety to conduct background checks for the committee on Richardson’s high-level appointees that are subject to confirmation.“The committee has an obligation to act responsibly. … If state, school and local government employers perform background checks on corrections personnel, school custodians and accountants, there is all the more reason to do the same thing for these high-level positions,” Lopez said in a news release. “I am hopeful the governor will agree it is time to have a more meaningful confirmation process.”

Lopez said if the committee “is unable to obtain good background information, it will have difficulty in moving forward with any confirmations.”

The new pressure from Lopez comes as Richardson is under heavy scrutiny because of a federal grand jury investigation into pay-to-play allegations against his administration. Media attention on the probe has helped give new energy to a move for ethics reform in Santa Fe.

Richardson’s office did not respond to requests for comment from The Santa Fe New Mexican. A Richardson spokesman has not immediately responded to NMI’s request for comment. Last year, a spokesman told the newspaper that the administration conducts checks on appointees and the Rules Committee “is free to do its own evaluations.”

That came after the committee started using the public safety department to conduct such background checks last year, a process Richardson quickly brought to a halt.

In her news release, Lopez said the attempt to secure background checks “reflects the deepening sensitivity to ethics and good governmental conduct in the state.” She said that, before the committee started using such background checks last year, the governor only provided the committee with the names of his nominees and “brief background information, but not a lot more. …

“Without background checks, most of the committee’s information came from persons supporting — or sometimes opposing — the appointment,” Lopez said, adding that “it was hit-or-miss” — and in some instances the committee “missed important information for extremely sensitive appointments involving fiscal, policy and personnel responsibilities.”