New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) on Friday suspended the right to bear arms to send “a resounding message.” The order apparently comes in response to the Wednesday shooting death of the third New Mexico child since July 28 — each an unspeakable tragedy, to be sure. But the “message” it sends is way off target.

Lujan Grisham declared gun violence “a statewide public health emergency of unknown duration” in a Thursday order. On Friday, state Health Secretary Patrick Allen released a public health order at the governor’s direction which forbade any person “other than a law enforcement officer or licensed security officer” to “possess a firearm … either openly or concealed.” Allen’s order also addressed drug abuse, for which Lujan Grisham declared a separate state of public health emergency.