https://defensemaven.io/bluelivesmatter/news/legislature-bars-sheriffs-from-attending-because-they-carry-guns-9O-Vp-NsTU67KH2vo87ROA/
At least a dozen sheriffs were prohibited from attending the New Mexico governor's address on Tuesday.
Santa Fe, NM – Sheriffs from all over New Mexico were refused entry to the state legislature’s opening session on Tuesday because they were armed.
"We were allowed to go into the Roundhouse but we weren't allowed to go down onto the floor. We were directed to go to another room and watch what was going on from a TV," Cibola County Sheriff Tony Mace told KRQE.
"That has never happened to us before and that's a direct violation to the constitution of New Mexico. Not only that, the constitution of the United States, and that's just, as law enforcement officers, as peace officers, we carry weapons. That's just what we do," the sheriff continued.
In December of 2018, the Legislative Council voted to ban all weapons from the House of Representatives gallery during joint sessions, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported.
However, when the ban was enacted, nobody considered how that would affect armed law enforcement officers.
The result was that New Mexico State Police were put in the awkward position of having to ask sheriffs to disarm.