On Saturday, three New Mexico cities will participate in worldwide freedom rallies against stringent lockdowns due to the pandemic. The rallies will be held in Albuquerque, Las Cruces, and Silver City. Freedom rallies are taking place globally, including Canada, England, New Zealand, South Africa, Denmark, Australia, Lithuania, Ireland, Poland, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, and Norway, according to the organizers.
The rallies are being organized by three groups, including “Free People of the Southwest,” the “New Mexico Freedoms Alliance,” and “New Mexico Stands Up!”
Sarah Smith of Free People of the Southwest, who is organizing the Las Cruces rally, said, “New Mexico is still under some of the harshest lockdown measures in the country. We have the 5th highest unemployment rate, and our businesses are still failing under unnecessarily strict mandates. The lockdown isn’t working, as evidenced by the fact that New Mexico has a worse COVID death rate than 36 states, including states that are wide open such as Florida and Texas. It is time for New Mexico to end the 14-month lockdown.”
A lawsuit to end the lockdown filed against embattled Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham by New Mexico Stands Up! is currently in process in federal court. Ana Garner, the lead lawyer on the case, said, “The lockdown and other mandates in New Mexico are causing vast harm, are ineffective, and are medically unnecessary. We have overwhelming evidence and testimony to prove it. It also violates the U.S. Constitution, the New Mexico Constitution and all precedent of human rights and civil liberties. We call upon our elected representatives and justices to end this crime against New Mexico now.”
Organizer of the Albuquerque rally, Karen Larré said, “There is no good reason for New Mexico to continue to be as locked down as it is. States around us are all more open than we are, and the numbers just don’t justify it. It’s time to fully reopen New Mexico!”
The rallies will take place at 10:00 a.m. and participants are encouraged to bring “General freedom signs, vax, lockdowns, etc.,” according to the New Mexico Freedoms Alliance. In Albuquerque, participants will meet at San Mateo and Central, in Las Cruces, participants will meet at Main and Picacho, and in Silver City, participants will meet at Swan and 180.
For more information, please reach out to the following: Albuquerque naturallyhealthykaren@fastmail.com, Las Cruces concernedfornm@gmail.com, and Silver City johnfoldan@gmail.com.