>I am an Arizonan now. Arizona and Texas would be allies for sure!
If New Mexico were to be in that group it would be a nice geographic block. The problem with New Mexico [and I say this as a citizen of the state] is the same as the federal government: Contradictions in law [mainly between the superior Constitution and the lesser ‘statute’ laws] are exploited such that the government can put pressure on anyone regardless of their honest-guilt/-innocence because they can contend that “they broke the law.”
{As Ayn Rand wrote: There’s no way to rule innocent men. The only power government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren’t enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws.}
Let me give you a perfect example.
The New Mexico State Constitution says, in Section 6 of Article II:
No law shall abridge the right of the citizen
to keep and bear arms for security and
defense, for lawful hunting and recreational
use and for other lawful purposes, but nothing
herein shall be held to permit the carrying
of concealed weapons. No municipality
or county shall regulate, in any way, an incident
of the right to keep and bear arms.
Yet there exists several state statutes that DO abridge the right to keep and bear arms for defense; most especially 30-7-2.4, which you can read here: http://www.conwaygreene.com/nmsu/lpext.dll?f=FifLink&t=document-frame.htm&l=query&iid=66b036fd.eebbfe6.0.0&q=%5BGroup%20%2730-7-2.4%27%5D
As you can plainly see, this law flat-out contradicts the superior State Constitution. If I were to go on campus using my right to open carry, how much would you bet that I would be arrested for violation of that statute? Prosecuted? And, here’s the ‘biggy’, would it be winnable in a state’s court of law?
I’m actually tempted to try it; I will, of course, be in the right, legally speaking. There is NO ambiguity in the State Constitution regarding the matter.