Photos Courtesy of John Foldan in Silver City
ACROSS NEW MEXICO, March 20, 2021 – Reports are pouring in from rallies all over the state today, when diverse New Mexicans, young and old, took to the streets in their own cities to demand "No More Lockdown!" The biggest rally, with about 250 people in attendance, was organized by Albuquerque residents Karen Larré and Caleb Gluck, and took place at the corner of Academy and Wyoming in Albuquerque. Participation in other rallies around the state included 100 people in Las Cruces, 75 in Roswell (with participants from Clovis, Artesia, Cloudcroft, Carrizozo, Ruidoso and Capitan), 50 in Rio Rancho, 50 in Santa Fe, 30 in Silver City and an as yet to be determined number of people in Edgewood, Moriarty, and Deming.
The rallies were organized by local citizen groups, with coordination from the New Mexico Freedoms Alliance, www.nmfa.us , a non-partisan coalition supporting freedom and choice for all New Mexicans.
Sarah Smith, one of the statewide coordinators for the March 20 events, and an organizer of the Las Cruces rally, said: "It's time to re-open all New Mexico businesses. This is a non-partisan issue. New Mexicans are suffering. The New Mexico lockdown does not make sense or follow the science, given the numbers and the COVID trajectory. The Red-to-Green re-opening criteria is fatally flawed and does not take into account any real indicators of the severity of COVID-19 impacts in our community. "States with severe lockdown have fared no better than states with much less tyrannical measures. Our economy and small businesses have been devastated. We need to get our people back to work, and let our communities connect and heal. All the states around us are much more open, and there have been no negative repercussions of that. Reopen New Mexico now."
The Las Cruces event included a march through the local Farmer's Market and presentations by speakers at a nearby park.
Each local rally around the state had its own flavor. For example, in Silver City the attendees stood at the side of a busy intersection on U.S. Route 180 holding signs and waving hands in greeting to passing vehicles, getting in return many loud, enthusiastic automobile horns, earth-shaking big truck horns, and huge shouts of encouragement heard from cars' open windows.
All statewide rallies were designed to be peaceful, respectful and non-partisan, with organizers contacting local law enforcement in advance to inform them of their plans and welcome their presence. The New Mexico rallies were planned in solidarity with rallies to end lockdown in 40 countries around the world, including Canada, England, New Zealand, South Africa, Denmark, Australia, Lithuania, Ireland, Poland, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and Norway.
A lawsuit to end the NM lockdown filed against the Governor by www.nmstandsup.org is now in process in Federal Court. Ana Garner, the lead lawyer on the case, recently commented: "The lockdown in New Mexico is causing vast harm and is unnecessary medically. We have hundreds of pages of evidence and testimony to prove it. It also violates the U.S. Constitution, the New Mexico Constitution and all precedents of human rights and civil liberties. We call upon our elected representatives and justices to end this crime against New Mexico now."
Hundreds of NM businesses have failed, leading to long-term loss of livelihood for thousands, increased food insecurity, high rates of unemployment, rampant depression, and other mental health issues, as well as increased suicide rates, especially among children.
The Roswell event, organized by www.concernedcitizensfornewmexico.com , included music and speakers, followed by an outdoor celebration.
Organizer Jesse James said:"People can't take this any longer – and they shouldn't have to. The Governor's illegal and immoral abuse of power in New Mexico cannot be tolerated. Whatever party you identify with, it's time to raise our voices and say, 'No more!'"
The "No Lockdown – Yes Freedom" Rally was the first Statewide Protest to show that New Mexicans from widespread communities with varied political orientations and belief systems oppose lockdown in New Mexico.