An inaccurate Facebook post goes after New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham over her support of a law that attempts to keep guns away from people who might be dangerous.
“In a move some would call ‘stunningly ironic’ Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) has had the firearms of her guards and household seized,” says a Feb. 9 Facebook post by the Farmington Tribune. “This comes only days after pushing her party’s ‘red flag’ law through the Senate.”
We don’t call this statement ironic. We call it false.
There is no evidence that guns were seized from Lujan Grisham’s home. And the state police officers who protect her remain armed, her spokesman Tripp Stelnicki told PolitiFact.
The story was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)
The Farmington Tribune Facebook page doesn’t shed much light on its intentions. Some news reports have characterized the Facebook page as satire, but nothing on the site states that.
This false story was inspired by Lujan Grisham’s support of the proposed Extreme Risk Firearm Protection Order Act that passed the state Senate on Feb. 7. It passed the House on Feb. 13. Lujan Grisham, who applauded its passage, is expected to sign the bill.
About 17 states have similar “red flag” or extreme risk laws. The laws allow police to petition a court to order the temporary removal of firearms from a person who may be dangerous, or to block the person from obtaining a firearm. After a set amount of time, the firearm is either returned to the person or the court order is extended.
RELATED: How Florida’s red flag gun law works
There is no evidence that guns were seized from Lujan Grisham’s home or from her security detail after passage of the law. We rate this statement False.
Truth-o-meter Ruling
IF YOUR TIME IS SHORT
- New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham supports a red flag law that passed the state Senate and House.
Statement
Context
a Facebook postSpeaker/Target
Statement Date
Our Sources
Farmington Tribune, NEW MEXICO RED FLAG GUN LAWS BACKFIRE, LEAVING GOVERNOR IN JAM, Feb. 9, 2020
Gov. Lujan Grisham, Extreme-risk protection order legislation clears Senate, Feb. 7, 2020
AP, New Mexico Senate endorses red-flag gun bill, Feb. 7, 2020
The Santa Fe New Mexican, Revised 'red flag' legislation passes Senate, Feb. 8, 2020
The Santa Fe New Mexican, Lawmaker: Nothing ‘inappropriate’ at Lujan Grisham meeting, Dec. 27, 2019
Giffords, MEMO: Extreme Risk Laws and Their Role in Reducing Gun Violence, Aug. 5, 2019
The Journal, Satirical website ‘The Farmington Tribune’ digs at Four Corners issues, Oct. 5, 2018
Email interview, Tripp Stelnicki, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham spokesman, Feb. 11, 2020
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