Emerge-trained radical judge gives Santa Fe green light to target gun owners

A Santa Fe judge this week sided with the city in a closely watched case over a controversial 2023 resolution directing staff to plaster public buildings with signs warning citizens that firearms are banned. The ruling, delivered by First Judicial District Judge Kathleen McGarry Ellenwood, upheld the city’s sweeping interpretation of state law—and simultaneously shut down a legal challenge brought by a local resident who argued the city was trampling constitutional rights.

Ellenwood, a far-left Democrat and 2020 graduate of the extremist political organization Emerge, which works to elect some of the most aggressively anti-gun, pro-abortion activists in the country, granted summary judgment to the city. Her decision found plaintiff Aaron Perls lacked legal standing and failed to show the city’s resolution violated state law. Perls may appeal.

The measure, passed in January 2023, directed the city to post gun-ban warnings at libraries, the Santa Fe Community Convention Center, municipal sports fields, City Hall, the Municipal Court, and other facilities routinely used by children. Supporters claim these locations fall under a section of the New Mexico Constitution that prohibits guns on “school premises.” The state constitution defines that term so broadly that almost any location hosting a youth-oriented event might qualify.

The City Council approved the measure on a 7–2 party-line-style vote, with a bloc of progressively aligned councilors—Signe Lindell, Carol Romero-Wirth, Jamie Cassutt, and Amanda Chavez—joining Mayor Alan Webber, a vocal gun-control advocate. The dissenting votes came from Councilor Lee Garcia and then-Councilor Chris Rivera, who warned in 2023 that the resolution would invite costly legal fights and create enforcement problems.

Mayor Webber celebrated Ellenwood’s ruling. “Potentially lethal weapons are not allowed here, and that’s a good thing for our community,” he said Tuesday, defending the city’s push to restrict firearms even at facilities that are not schools.

Perls filed his lawsuit in December 2023, arguing that the city’s facilities do not legally qualify as “sensitive places” under the state constitution. A co-owner of a Santa Fe martial arts school, he argued the resolution violates his right to bear arms and his right to engage in expressive advocacy for the Second Amendment. His complaint noted he fears being disarmed at city properties and therefore avoids them—an injury he said should give him standing.

Ellenwood rejected the argument, writing that the resolution “merely provides notice and confirmation that State law applies to specific school-related locations,” rather than restricting Perls directly. “Although Plaintiff’s conduct may be covered under the Second Amendment, it is not the City’s Resolution that is restricting Plaintiff’s conduct but the Statute itself,” she wrote.

Webber has repeatedly embraced sweeping gun-control initiatives. In his May 2024 State of the City address—his last before leaving office—he boasted about posting the anti-gun signage and used the moment to swipe at former President Donald Trump. He later pushed an amendment urging lawmakers to change the state constitution to let cities regulate guns outright, a long-sought goal of progressive activists.

The city’s legislative agenda also endorses creating a state Office of Gun Violence Prevention, expanding penalties for firearms trafficking, banning so-called “assault-style rifles,” and new state spending on youth gun-violence programs.