{1} This matter comes before the Court on Plaintiffs’ constitutional challenges to the New Mexico eockfighting ban dictated by NMSA 1978, Sections 30-18-1 and-9 (2007). The district court dismissed the complaint based on Plaintiffs’ lack of standing and the determination that the challenged statutes were constitutional. Although we hold that the district court erred with respect to its ruling on associational standing, we agree with the district court that the statutes are constitutional, and we therefore affirm.
I. BACKGROUND
{2} In 2007, our Legislature amended Sections 30-18-1 and-9 in order to effectively ban cockfighting in the state of New Mexico. The amendment to Section 30-18-1 eliminated Subsection K, which had excepted cockfighting from the general prohibition on cruelty to animals. The amendment to Section 30-18-9 created a criminal penalty for persons involved with eockfighting. Plaintiffs, who are the New Mexico Gamefowl Association, Inc. (NMGA) and a number of business owners, filed a complaint in district court against the State of New Mexico, the Governor, the Attorney General, the head of the State Police Department, and forty unnamed individuals (collectively Defendants). The complaint disputes the procedural propriety of the passage of the statutes and the constitutionality of Sections 30-18-1 and-9 under Article II, Section 5 of the New Mexico Constitution.
{3} Defendants responded with a motion to dismiss, in which they made four arguments: (1) Plaintiffs have no standing to challenge the eockfighting ban, (2) the courts do not review the Legislature’s adherence to procedures that are required by the New Mexico Constitution for the enactment of bills, (3) the challenged procedures do not apply to the enactment of Sections 30-18-1 and-9, and (4) the New Mexico Constitution does not protect eockfighting. After a hearing, the district court granted Defendants’ motion, concluding that Plaintiffs lacked standing and that the statutes were constitutional. Plaintiffs appeal the order.
II. DISCUSSION
{4} Plaintiffs urge reversal on three grounds and argue that (1) Sections 30-18-1 and-9 are void because the Legislature did not follow the procedures for the passage of
A. New Mexico Constitution Article IV, Section 15
{5} Article TV, Section 15 of the New Mexico Constitution requires that
[n]o bill, except bills to provide for the public peace, health and safety, and the codification or revision of the laws, shall become a law unless it has been printed, and read three different times in each house, not more than two of which readings shall be on the same day, and the third of which shall be in full.
Plaintiffs allege in their complaint that the Legislature failed to follow the required constitutional procedure and that, as a result, Sections 30-18-1 and-9 are void. For the purposes of reviewing the district court’s dismissal of Plaintiffs’ allegations, we treat all facts alleged in the complaint as if they were true. Prot. & Advocacy Sys. v. City of Albuquerque,
{6} In Kelley v. Marron, our Supreme Court considered an argument identical to that of Plaintiffs.
An act of the Legislature, when regularly on file in the office of the secretary of state, is, and must necessarily be, either a law or not a law, and it is preposterous to hold that that which is the law is so only prima facie, or to hold that that which is in fact not a law is even prima facie so. What constitutes the statutory law of a state must necessarily be an absolute proposition, and not simply a prima facie one.
Id. at 250,
{7} Plaintiffs posit three arguments in order to support their position that Kelley and its progeny should be reexamined: (1) Legislators commonly do not read bills and are not aware of the actual language; (2) Kelley does not account for “vast changes in circumstances, judicial experience, and trends in law”; and (3) a conclusive presumption of regularity violates due process protections. With regard to Plaintiffs’ first concern, Kelley stated that “[t]he people are as well able to choose honest and capable lawmakers as they are to choose upright and righteous judges.”
mandates thus given must be held to be directed only to the officers exercising the powers conferred, upon whom rests the responsibility of seeing that their acts comply with such requirements, unless some one of the departments of government has been created with superior powers and prerogatives and given a supervisory control over the other supposedly equal and independent departments of government.
Id. Thus, each branch bears the responsibility for its own procedures. And the public is not without remedy because “[i]f ... members of the [Legislature] violate their constitutional duties on adjournment, they can be defeated the next time such offices come up for election, but the remedy is not for the courts.” 1 Norman J. Singer, Statutes and Statutory Constmction § 15:3, at 822 (6th ed.2002).
{8} In their second argument, Plaintiffs contend that the law has evolved since Kelley and that the “conclusive presumption of the regularity of acts by government officials has given way to the wide-spread use of rebuttable presumptions of regularity.” Plaintiffs argue that it is “illogical” and “nonsensical” to continue to apply Kelley’s conclusive presumption. Despite these arguments, “[a] substantial number of states follow the conclusive presumption rule.” 1 Singer, supra, § 15:3, at 823. But see Ittai Bar-Siman-Tov, Legislative Supremacy in the United States?: Rethinking the “Enrolled Bill” DoctHne, 97 Geo. L.J. 323, 340 (2009) (“Today, only a minority of state courts still follow [the enrolled bill doctrine] while most have modified or completely rejected this doctrine.”). Thus, we disagree that the conclusive presumption outlined by Kelley is as outdated as Plaintiffs appear to argue. While we acknowledge that different states may have different approaches to this question, Plaintiffs fail to explain why the procedures of other states should cause New Mexico to deviate from its present system.
{9} Finally, Plaintiffs challenge Kelley on due process grounds. Based on the statement in the brief in chief, “[w]here a presumption intrudes upon a significant liberty interest it may violate due process of law,” Plaintiffs appear to argue that the application of Kelley and the conclusive presumption of regularity violate procedural due process protections. In order to establish a violation of due process, Plaintiffs must show that (1) they have a protected liberty interest, and (2) the State failed to provide the minimum procedures necessary to protect the liberty interest. See Cordova v. LeMaster,
{10} Plaintiffs’ liberty interest appears to be rooted in a right of judicial review of the enactment procedures outlined by the New Mexico Constitution. Plaintiffs do not explain or provide citation for the proposition that such judicial review is a constitutionally protected right. Further, the Supreme Court of the United States has long adhered to the conclusive presumption of regularity in the enactment of laws. See Marshall Field & Co. v. Clark,
{11} Accordingly, we decline to abandon Kelley and the long-standing application of the conclusive presumption of regularity and, on these grounds, we affirm the constitutionality of Sections 30-18-1 and-9. State v. Duarte,
{12} “Whether a party has standing to bring a claim is a question of law which we review de novo.” Prot. & Advocacy Sys.,
{13} In order to establish standing, a plaintiff must demonstrate “the existence of (1) an injury in fact, (2) a causal relationship between the injury and the challenged conduct, and (3) a likelihood that the injury will be redressed by a favorable decision.” Id. ¶ 18 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). Although New Mexico courts do not require a plaintiff to establish standing as a constitutional threshold, “as a matter of judicial policy if not of jurisdictional necessity, our courts have generally required that a litigant demonstrate injury in fact, causation, and redressability to invoke the court’s authority to decide the merits of a case.” ACLU of N.M. v. City of Albuquerque (ACLU II),
{14} Whether a plaintiff has standing depends on “whether the constitutional or statutory provision on which the claim rests properly can be understood as granting persons in the plaintiffs position a right to judicial relief.” Warth v. Seldin,
1. Individual Plaintiffs
{15} We begin our analysis of Individual Plaintiffs’ standing to challenge the substantive constitutionality of Sections 30-18-1 and-9 by considering the nature of the injuries alleged. The complaint states that Sections 30-18-1 and-9 violate “the constitutionally protected rights of persons in the State of New Mexico to acquire, possess, and use property for the purposes of eockfighting.” The language of Section 30-18-9 explains the extent of the Legislature’s prohibition on cockfighting. The statute prohibits persons from causing, sponsoring, arranging, holding, or participating in a fight between cocks for the purpose of monetary gain or entertainment. Section 30-18-9(A). “Participation” is defined as “owning or equipping [a] participating [cock] with knowledge of the contest.” Section 30-18-9(A)(2). Further, “[i]t is unlawful to train, equip or sponsor a dog or cock for the purpose of having it ... fight with another dog or cock, respectively, for monetary gain or entertainment.” Section 30-18-9(B).
{16} Turning to Individual Plaintiffs’ alleged injuries, we first observe that Section 30-18-9(D) criminalizes cockfighting and imposes a series of graduated punishments based on the defendant’s number of previous convictions. It is well established that “persons having no fears of state prosecution except those that are imaginary or speculative, are not to be accepted as appropriate plaintiffs.” Babbitt v. United Farm Workers Nat’l Union,
{17} Section 30-18-9, Plaintiffs suggest, has a wide range of effects on persons who do not directly engage in cockfighting, including: the prohibition from participation as spectators, the loss of income or the destruction of business, the destruction of lifestyle because goods and services for birds will not be available, the destruction of lifestyle because showers and breeders might be mistakenly arrested, and the risk of illness in non-fighting birds. Plaintiffs contend that the cases cited by Defendants address criminal laws, the violation of which could only affect the violator — the person who risked prosecution. As a result, Plaintiffs conclude that because of the wide-ranging effect of Section 30-18-9 on persons who have no intention of violating the law, the cited cases- — which apply the Babbitt test for standing — should not restrict the constitutional challenge of Individual Plaintiffs. We are unpersuaded.
{18} Plaintiffs address and attempt to distinguish four cases that were cited by Defendants in the proceedings below: Nagol v. New Mexico,
{19} While we agree with Plaintiffs that the defendants in Marchiondo and Salazar were arguably the only persons who would have been injured by the laws that they attempted to challenge, neither case relied on such a distinction. In fact, the Marchiondo Court incorporated the general premise set forth in Babbitt that the constitutionality of a statute may only be challenged by a person whose rights are affected by the statute. Marchiondo,
{20} The facts of Nagol and ACLU I are more similar to the present controversy. The plaintiff in Nagol challenged the constitutionality of a statute that required persons to provide identification when requested to do so by a police officer.
{21} Based on the breadth of conduct prohibited by the statute — causing, sponsoring, arranging, holding, or participating in a fight between birds, as well as owning or equipping a bird to fight — we must examine the complaints of each Individual Plaintiff in order to determine whether they have alleged actual injury under Babbitt.
a. Individual Standing
{22} Individual Plaintiffs can be divided into two categories for the purposes of evaluating actual injury: Business Plaintiffs and Spectator Plaintiffs. Business Plaintiffs are comprised of DD Animal Nutrition and Supply (DD), Bullock’s Feed (Bullock’s), Mesilla Valley Feeds (Mesilla), Lewallen Supply (Lewallen), Johnny’s Service Station (Johnny’s), and Hilltop Inn (Hilltop). DD is a feed store that provides feed, nutritional supplements, and medications to a wide variety of animal owners, including persons who fight birds. Bullock’s and Mesilla also supply feed to the gamefowl community, as well as to other animal owners. Lewallen sells coekfighting materials to those who participate in the activity. Johnny’s is an automobile fuel and service station that operates in Jal, New Mexico, where cockfighting was conducted before the ban was enacted. Hilltop is a hotel, also located in Jal, which had benefit-ted from the cockfights that were previously held in the community.
{23} Spectator Plaintiffs include Johnny Montoya, the owner of Johnny’s, Raul Trevino, the owner of Lewallen, and Pradip Bhakta, the owner of Hilltop. Each Spectator Plaintiff alleged that he attended cockfights and that the ban on the activity deprived him of an aspect of cultural expression. We first consider Business Plaintiffs’ standing to challenge the cockfighting ban.
i. Business Plaintiffs
{24} The Babbitt standard requires us to consider whether Business Plaintiffs have alleged (1) an arguable constitutional interest in continuing to engage in a course of conduct that is prohibited by the challenged statute, (2) an intent to continue to engage in that conduct, and (3) a credible threat of prosecution under Section 30-18-9(A)(2). See Babbitt,
{25} Each Business Plaintiff has alleged a purely economic interest. Bullock’s alleged that “[t]he ban on coekfighting ... will irreparably harm Bullock’s by significantly reducing its gross receipts, causing the loss of an employee, and making it difficult, if not impossible, for Bullock’s to remain in business.” DD, Mesilla, Johnny’s, Lewallen, and Hilltop allege similar interests. None of these entities explain how their intent to continue to provide services and equipment for coekfighting “deters the exercise of his constitutional rights.” Id. (Internal quotation marks and citation omitted). Plaintiffs do not argue that continuing to engage in economic activity in a particular manner is conduct that is “arguably affected with a constitutional interest.” Id. Nor do Plaintiffs provide any authority for the proposition that evidence of economic damage supports that they have even an arguable constitutional interest in continuing to engage in particular business activities.
{26} Business Plaintiffs’ injuries are distinct from the cultural injuries alleged by the remaining plaintiffs, which we will discuss in subsequent paragraphs. Plaintiffs have specifically rooted the cultural injury argument in Article II, Section 5 of the New Mexico Constitution. Although this argument may not ultimately be viable, the allegations axe sufficient to support an “arguable” constitutional interest. Babbitt,
ii. Spectator Plaintiffs
{27} As explained before, Spectator Plaintiffs allege past attendance at cockfights and complain that the cockfighting ban prevents them from future attendance at events that they consider to be an aspect of cultural expression. Section 30-18-9(A) prohibits the knowing participation in a fight between cocks for the purposes of monetary gain or entertainment, and “participation” includes “owning or equipping” a participating animal. Section 30-18-9(A)(2). Spectator Plaintiffs do not allege that they either own or equip participating animals, but rather they focus on their inability to attend these events. We observe that the dogfighting ban does impose a criminal penalty on spectators. Section 30-18~9(A)(l) (defining participation as “being present at a dog fight without attempting to interfere with or stop the contest”). The cockfighting statute, however, does not prohibit such passive involvement in a cockfight. We therefore conclude that Spectator Plaintiffs did not allege an actual injury for the purposes of standing because there is no credible threat of prosecution related to mere attendance at a cockfight.
b. Third-Party Standing
{28} Although Individual Plaintiffs do not use the term “third-party standing,” they allege injuries on behalf of others. Accordingly, we continue our standing analysis in order to determine whether Individual Plaintiffs have third-party standing to challenge Sections 30-18-1 and-9. Third-party standing involves a suit by plaintiffs on behalf of other persons who intend to engage in conduct that will violate a challenged provision. Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife,
{29} We have already considered the injuries to the Individual Plaintiffs and have concluded that those alleged injuries were insufficient to establish a credible threat of prosecution under Section 30-18-9. In addition, Individual Plaintiffs have failed to establish the third criteria: they have provided no reason why a person who has violated or intends to violate Section 30-18-9 cannot himself challenge the constitutionality of the statute. Cf. NARAL,
2. Associational Standing
{30} Our Supreme Court also addressed associational standing in ACLU II and explained that an association has standing to sue on behalf of its members when (1) the members would otherwise have standing to sue, (2) the interests that the association seeks to protect are germane to the association’s purpose, and (3) the claim asserted and the relief requested do not require the individual members to participate in the lawsuit.
{31} The first element of associational standing is that the individual members of an association would have standing to sue. See id. It is well established that an association is required to allege that at least one of its members is “suffering immediate or threatened injury.” Warth,
[m]any of [NMGA’s] members live in rural areas and are devoted to rural lifestyles, of which gamefowl breeding and/or participating in gamefowl shows or fights are, in New Mexico, longstanding, culturally[ ]bound and significant activities. Most members are working people with families who are likewise involved with the game-fowl community, either as participants in the sport, persons who simply fancy and keep the birds, persons who like to breed and show them, or persons who support the gamefowl community by providing goods and/or services to those who keep, breed, show birds, and/or participate in the sport.
Based on this allegation, the members of NMGA, unlike Individual Plaintiffs, engage in activities that are prohibited by Section 30-18-9, i.e., owning or equipping cocks for the purpose of fighting. As a result, the members of NMGA are at a credible risk of prosecution for these activities. See ACLU II,
{32} Similarly, NMGA has no difficulty establishing the second element of associational standing: that the claim of unconstitutionality is germane to the organization’s purpose. See id. The complaint alleges that the NMGA serves the following purpose:
[T]his corporation is organized solely for binding Breeders, Cockers, and Fanciers of Gamefowl into an organization for their mutual benefit, by keeping the fighting of gamefowl legal in New Mexico and for the exchange of better ... methods and ideas tending toward perpetuation and improvement of the sport of cocking, various breeds of gamefowl and to cooperate with [s]tate and [flederal [a]gencies which seek to control poultry diseases.
Plaintiffs’ constitutional attack on the cockfighting ban is germane to NMGA’s stated purpose to keep cockfighting legal.
{33} Defendants contend that NMGA cannot establish the third element of associational standing because the relief requested in the complaint is not common to NMGA’s entire membership. Specifically, Defendants cite Warth and argue that because not all of NMGA’s members participate in cockfighting, the damages claims are not shared by the entire membership to an equal degree, and each member must be a party to the suit in order to recover for the individual injuries. We are unpersuaded.
{34} In Warth, the association sought monetary damages for its members.
{35} Defendants also argue that because Sections 30-18-1 and-9 impose a criminal sanction and an organization cannot be subject to a criminal penalty, NMGA cannot represent its members to challenge the cockfighting ban. Again, we disagree. First, Defendants cite no authority for the proposition that an association cannot have standing to challenge a criminal law on behalf of its members. Second, the law of standing does not require that the organization suffer the injury allegedly caused by the challenged statute. Associational standing may be based either on “whatever rights and immunities the association itself may enjoy” or “the rights of [the association’s] members.” Worth,
{36} For these reasons, we conclude that NMGA had associational standing to challenge the constitutionality of Sections 30-18-1 and-9. We now turn to the substantive challenges to the cockfighting ban. Although our holding renders NMGA as the only plaintiff with standing, the arguments we address were advanced by Plaintiffs, and we will refer to them as Plaintiffs’ arguments.
C. Article II, Section 5
{37} Plaintiffs contend that Article II, Section 5 of the New Mexico Constitution prevents the Legislature from prohibiting cockfighting as a culturally bound use of property. Article II, Section 5 of the New Mexico Constitution states that “[t]he rights, privileges and immunities, civil, political and religious guaranteed to the people of New Mexico by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo shall be preserved inviolate.” At this point, our analysis would typically turn to the content of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in order to determine what “rights, privileges and immunities” were guaranteed by Article II, Section 5 of the New Mexico Constitution. Plaintiffs, however, argue that the language of the Treaty and subsequent interpretations of the Treaty should not be the focus of our analysis. Instead, Plaintiffs direct us to consider only “the legislative intent of the framers of [Article II, Section 5 of the New Mexico Constitution].” At the same time, Plaintiffs would have us evaluate deleted provisions of the Treaty and the Protocols of Querétaro — a diplomatic explanation of the deleted provisions — as interpretative aids to the intent of the framers.
{38} We fail to see how we can ascertain the intent of the framers without considering the language of the Treaty, the whole of which the framers incorporated into our constitution. A common sense reading of Article II, Section 5 of the New Mexico Constitution demonstrates that the framers intended to do no more than guarantee the people of New Mexico the rights, privileges, and immunities encompassed by the Treaty. Therefore, we examine the language of the Treaty, law interpreting that language, and any other reliable source that will shed light on the rights that the framers intended to convey to the citizens of New Mexico when Article II, Section 5 of the New Mexico Constitution was adopted. See Prot. & Advocacy Sys.,
{39} Plaintiffs do not point to a particular provision or article of the Treaty that can be read to protect eockfighting — or even culturally bound uses of property. Instead, Plaintiffs appear to argue that the Treaty in its entirety, read together with other documents contemporary to the signing of the Treaty, was designed to “ensure that the United States would forever recognize the rights of persons in the ceded territory, and their
1. The Treaty
{40} The Treaty was signed in 1848 by the governments of the United States and Mexico in order to end hostilities between those countries. See Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, U.S.-Mex., Feb. 2, 1848, reprinted in 1 William M. Malloy, Treaties, Conventions, Int’l Acts, Protocols & Agreements Between the United States of America and Other Powers 1776-1909, at 1107 (1910) (hereinafter Treaty); Montoya v. Tecolote Land Grant ex rel. Tecolote Bd. of Trs.,
{41} Article I simply declares a “universal peace” between the United States and Mexico. Treaty, supra, at 1108. Articles II, III, and IV arrange for the suspension of hostilities between the two countries, including the cessation of any blockades, the withdrawal of troops, the restoration to Mexico of “castles, forts, territories, places, and possessions” taken by the United States, and the return of prisoners of war. Treaty, supra, at 1108-09. Article V establishes the boundary between the United States and Mexico, and Article VI provides for free passage of the Gulf of California for the “vessels and citizens of the United States,” as well as for the construction of certain roads and canals on the river Gila. Treaty, supra, at 1109-11. Along those lines, Article VII outlines the rights of the countries to navigate certain rivers. Treaty, supra, at 1111.
{42} Article VIII discusses the rights of Mexicans who were living in “territories previously belonging to Mexico.” Treaty, supra, at 1111. This Article explains that those persons “may either retain the title and rights of Mexican citizens, or acquire those of citizens of the United States” and establishes a timetable for the election of citizenship. Id. at 1111-12. In addition, Article VIII protects “property of every kind” belonging to Mexicans who were not at the time residing in the territories that had previously belonged to Mexico and dictates that such property “shall be inviolably respected.” Treaty, supra, at 1112. Article IX asserts that
Mexicans who, in the territories aforesaid, shall not preserve the character of citizens of the Mexican Republic, conformably with what is stipulated in the preceding article, shall be incorporated into the Union of the United States, and be admitted at the proper time (to be judged of by the Congress of the United States) to the enjoyment of all the rights of citizens of the United States, according to the principles of the Constitution; and in the mean time, shall be maintained and protected in the free enjoyment of their liberty and property, and secured in the free exercise of their religion without restriction.
Treaty, supra, at 1112.
{43} As we will explain below, Congress deleted Article X from the Treaty. Treaty, supra, at 1112. Article XI concerns the relationship between Mexico, the United States, and Native Americans. Treaty, supra, at 1112-13. Articles XII, XIII, XIV, and XV deal with the financial responsibilities of both countries regarding payment for territories, and the payment and discharge of debts and claims. Treaty, supra, at 1113-14. In Article XVI, both parties reserve the right to fortify their territories and in Article XVII, the parties revived, in part, an earlier treaty. Treaty, supra, at 1115. Articles XVIII, XIX,
2. Related Documents
{44} The Treaty, in its final form, is not the treaty that was negotiated and presented to Congress for ratification. During the ratification process, Congress edited Article IX and deleted Article X in its entirety. See Jon Michael Haynes, Comment, What Is it About Saying We’re Sorry? New Federal Legislation and the Forgotten Promises of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, 3 Scholar 231, 251-53 (2001). Although it is lengthy, we offer the entire text of the rejected Article IX in order to provide context for our analysis:
The Mexicans who, in the territories aforesaid, shall not preserve the character of citizens of the Mexican republic, conformably with what is stipulated in the preceding article, shall be incorporated into the Union of the United States, and admitted as soon as possible, according to the principles of the federal constitution, to the enjoyment of all the rights of the citizens of the United States. In the mean time they shall be maintained and protected in the enjoyment of their liberty, their property, and the civil rights now vested in them according to the Mexican laws. With respect to political rights, their condition shall be on an equality with that of the inhabitants of the other territories of the United States, and at least equally good as that of the inhabitants of Louisiana and the Floridas, when these provinces, by transfer from the French republic and the crown of Spain, became territories of the United States.
The same most ample guaranty shall be enjoyed by all the ecclesiastics and religious corporations or communities, as well in the discharge of the offices of their ministry, as in the enjoyment of their property of every kind, whether individual or corporate. This guaranty shall embrace all temples, houses, and edifices dedicated to the Roman Catholic worship[ ]; as well as all property destined to its support, or to that of schools, hospitals, and other foundations for charitable or beneficent purposes. No property of this nature shall be considered as having become the property of the American government, or as subject to be by it disposed of, or diverted to other uses.
Finally, the relations and communication between the Catholics living in the territories aforesaid, and their respective ecclesiastical authorities, shall be open, free, and exempt from all hindrance whatever, even □though such authorities should reside within the limits of the Mexican republic, as defined by this treaty[ ]; and this freedom shall continue so long as a new demarkation of ecclesiasticals districts shall not have been made, conformably with the laws of the Roman Catholic [CJhureh.
5 Exec. Doc. No. 50, at 16-17 (1849). The ratified Article IX omits the second two paragraphs, both of which were included in the rejected Article IX. See Treaty, supra, at 1112; 5 Exec. Doc. No. 50, at 16-17. Further, the language “admitted as soon as possible” in the rejected Article IX, 5 Exec. Doe. No. 50, at 16, was changed to “admitted at the proper time (to be judged of by the Congress of the United States).” Treaty, supra, at 1112. Small additional changes in the sentence structure of the first paragraph are also apparent. The deleted Article X, in relevant part, stated that “[a]ll grants of land made by the Mexican government, or by the competent authorities in territories previously appertaining to Mexico, and remaining for the future within the limits of the United States, shall be respected as valid, to the same extent that the same grants would be valid if the said territories had remained within the limits of Mexico.” 5 Exec. Doc. No. 50, at 17.
did not intend to diminish in any way what was agreed upon by [Article IX and] ... all the privileges and guarantees, civil, political, and religious, which would have been possessed by the inhabitants of the ceded territories, if the IXth article of the [T]reaty had been retained, will be enjoyed by them, without any difference, under the article which has been substituted.
Treaty, supra, at 1119. With regard to Article X, the Protocol states the following:
The American Government by suppressing the Xth article of the [Treaty] did not in any way intend to annul the grants of lands made by Mexico in the ceded territories. These grants, notwithstanding the suppression of the article of the treaty, preserve the legal value which they may possess, and the grantees may cause their legitimate [titles] to be acknowledged before the American tribunals.
Conformably to the law of the United States, legitimate titles to every description of property, personal and real, existing in the ceded territories are those which were legitimate titles under the Mexican law in California and New Mexico up to the 13th of May, 1846, and in Texas up to the 2d [of] March, 1836.
Treaty, supra, at 1119 (second alteration in original). The Protocol also described amendments to Article XII, but Plaintiffs concede that those changes are not relevant to the current discussion. Treaty, supra, at 1120. The enduring vitality and relevance of the Protocol is uncertain. See Christopher David Ruiz Cameron, One Hundred Fifty Years of Solitude: Reflections on the End of the History Academy’s Dominance of Scholarship on the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, 5 Sw. J.L. & Trade Am. 83, 89-90 (1998) (explaining that the Secretary of State considered the Protocol to have “no value” and that it was “merely a record of conversations between diplomats and lacked the force or effect of law” (internal quotation marks omitted)). We nonetheless consider its language, together with the edited and deleted provisions of the Treaty, in order to determine whether the framers of the New Mexico Constitution intended to incorporate protections into Article II, Section 5 for culturally bound uses of personal property.
3. The Treaty and the Use of Culturally Bound Property
{46} With that as background, we reiterate Plaintiffs’ core argument:
A complete reading of the Treaty establishes that the [g]overnment of Mexico wanted to ensure that the United States would forever recognize the rights of persons in the ceded territory, and their successors, to property of all kinds, including all of the uses of that property recognized by Mexican law and those uses of property which are culturally bound, even where those uses might not be culturally prevalent in the United States.
Plaintiffs contend that the framers of the New Mexico Constitution intended to provide “broader civil, political, and religious rights protections ... than that guaranteed by other [federal and [s]tate constitution^].” As a result, Plaintiffs assert that because they do not seek to enforce the Treaty, but instead the state constitution, the language in the Treaty that limits the rights conferred is not relevant.
{47} We do not reach Plaintiffs’ characterization of the intent of the framers because we are bound by the plain language of the Treaty. Article II, Section 5 of the New Mexico Constitution preserves the “rights, privileges and immunities, civil, political and religious guaranteed to the people of New Mexico by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.” We are therefore bound by the Treaty and the rights — and limitations on those rights— that were actually conferred by the agreement. After reviewing each provision of the Treaty, we conclude that the only arguably relevant sections of the Treaty are Articles VIII, IX, and X, which concern real and
a. Article VIII
{48} The relevant portion of Article VIII states that the “property of every kind, now belonging to Mexicans not established” in the territories previously belonging to Mexico “shall be inviolably respected,” and that “[t]he present owners, the heirs of these, and all Mexicans who may hereafter acquire said property by contract, shall enjoy with respect to it guarantees equally ample as if the same belonged to citizens of the United States.” Treaty, supra, at 1112. This provision refers to property of every kind, but it extends only those rights that would apply to the same property if it “belonged to citizens of the United States.” Id. Plaintiffs do not contend that some separate law of the United States protects the culturally bound use of personal property. Therefore, although Article VIII extends its protection to “every kind” of property, those protections are limited to those recognized by the law of the United States and not the law of Mexico. Id.; see Amaya v. Stanolind Oil & Gas Co. (Amaya II),
b. Article IX
{49} Plaintiffs argue that because the Protocol reserved the rights of the rejected Article IX, the language from that rejected provision can be used to establish an intent to ensure that “the United States would move as quickly as possible to make the ceded territories into States while ensuring that those living in the newly ceded territories would continue to be protected in their property and liberty rights.” Plaintiffs ignore the limiting language that accompanied both versions of Article IX.
{50} Both the rejected Article IX and the ratified Article IX guarantee that Mexicans in the newly established United States territory may be admitted as citizens of the United States and that when they are admitted, they will enjoy “all the rights of citizens of the United States.” Treaty, supra, at 1112; 5 Exec. Doc. No. 50, at 16. The very next sentence of the ratified Article IX explains that “in the mean time, [they] shall be maintained and protected in the free enjoyment of their liberty and property, and secured in the free exercise of their religion without restriction.” Treaty, supra, at 1112 (emphasis added). The rejected Article IX reads instead that “[i]n the mean time they shall be maintained and protected in the enjoyment of their liberty, their property, and the civil rights now vested in them according to the Mexican laws.” 5 Exec. Doc. No. 50, at 16 (emphasis added). Plaintiffs use the Protocol to argue that the revisions did not weaken the protections of the Treaty with regard to cultural practices.
{51} First, we fail to see that the excised language provides any more protection for cultural practices than the ratified language. The rejected Article IX refers to the enjoyment of liberty, property, and civil rights according to Mexican law — it does not, even generally, reach out to cover cultural practices. The ratified Article IX similarly protects the free “enjoyment of their liberty and property” and condenses the two deleted paragraphs into a succinct protection for “the free exercise of their religion without restriction.” Treaty, supra, at 1112; 5 Exec. Doc. No. 50, at 16-17. Despite the assurances of the Protocol that no rights were lost in the revisions, neither article addresses the cultural use of property.
{52} Second, accepting — for the sake of argument only — that Plaintiffs are correct and that the Protocol evidences an intent by the Mexican government that Mexican citizens should retain greater rights in the new territories under familiar Mexican law, both the rejected and the ratified Articles limit
Article IX of the Treaty, upon which [the djefendant relies and which protects the free exercise of religion ‘in the mean time,’ was designed only to address the interim period between the ratification of the Treaty and ‘the enjoyment of all the rights of citizens of the United States’ once individuals were admitted as citizens following the one year allowed in Article VIII, 9 Stat. 922, for the election of citizenship.
State v. Fry,
{53} Plaintiffs argue that it is “absurd” to posit that New Mexico cannot confer rights that did not exist in the Treaty itself. We agree with Plaintiffs that the framers were free to lawfully adopt state constitutional provisions that do not provide less protection than the federal constitution. Our review of the Treaty, however, demonstrates that the framers did not adopt rights that do not exist within the language of the Treaty. Accordingly, we conclude that Article II, Section 5 of the New Mexico Constitution extends both the protections and the limitations of the Treaty to all of the citizens of New Mexico and that Article IX of the Treaty, even considering the extraneous documents, cannot be read to protect the culturally bound use of personal property.
c. Article X
{54} Although the deleted Article X appears to be concerned only with real property, Plaintiffs contend that the Protocol demonstrates that the parties to the Treaty — and later, the framers of Article II, Section 5 of the New Mexico Constitution — intended to protect personal property as well as its use. As we have stated, the United States representatives explained their intentions for deleting Article X in the Protocol as evidenced by the statement that “legitimate titles to every description of property, personal and real, existing in the ceded territories are those which were legitimate titles under the Mexican law” in California, New Mexico, and Texas until certain dates. Treaty, supra, at 1119. Plaintiffs argue that bare title to property is meaningless and that it is “the right to use and enjoy property that gives it value and meaning.”
{55} Deleted Article X of the Treaty addressed only real property by confining itself to “[a]ll grants of land made by the Mexican government, or by the competent authorities.” 5 Exec. Doc. No. 50, at 17. The Protocol refers to title to property, but we see no evidence in either document to indicate that the drafters had in mind the cultural use of personal property. Instead, it would appear that deleted Article X of the Treaty was primarily concerned with existing land disputes in Texas. Amaya v. Stanolind Oil & Gas Co. (Amaya I),
{56} Plaintiffs cite Nollan v. California Coastal Commission,
{57} Nollan concerned a local building commission that refused to issue a building permit to the property owners unless they would agree to allow the public an easement across their property.
{58} Plaintiffs contend that Sections 30-18-1 and-9 also impose more than a mere regulation of property because the uses of gamefowl are limited, and if they cannot be fought, they have no value or use. We find an analogy to Nollan to be inapposite. In Nollan, the plaintiffs owned an option to buy the real property, but they could not exercise the option unless they demolished the existing building and rebuilt.
{59} Instead, we consider Andrus v. Allard to better fit the circumstances of the present case.
{60} The Andrus Court explained that “government regulation — by definition — involves the adjustment of rights for the public good.” Id. at 65,
The regulations challenged here do not compel the surrender of the artifacts, and there is no physical invasion or restraint upon them. Rather, a significant restriction has been imposed on one means of disposing of the artifacts. But the denial of one traditional property right does not always amount to a taking. At least where an owner possesses a full “bundle” of property rights, the destruction of one “strand” of the bundle is not a taking, because the aggregate must be viewed in its entirety.
Id. at 65-66,
{61} In the present case, the cockfighting ban does not prevent the ownership or breeding of birds. The ban prevents fighting — one use of the birds — and as a result, only destroys “one strand of the bundle” of property rights. See id. at 65-66,
{62} Because we conclude that Sections 30-18-1 and-9 do not effect a regulatory taking of Plaintiffs’ property, we find no constitutional barrier to a literal reading of the language of deleted Article X of the Treaty and the Protocol. Accordingly, we hold that the deleted Article X of the Treaty related only to real property and that the Protocol’s explanation of the deletion of Article X refers only to title to property. As a result, the provisions of deleted Article X impose no barrier to our Legislature’s enactment of a ban on cockfighting, which restricts the cultural use of certain property.
III. CONCLUSION
{63} We first decline to review the Legislature’s adherence to constitutionally mandated procedures for the enactment of bills. We next conclude that although Individual Plaintiffs have no standing to challenge the constitutionality of Sections 30-18-1 and-9, NMGA does have associational standing to challenge the cockfighting ban. Finally, we conclude that Article II, Section 5 of the New Mexico Constitution does not render the statutory ban on cockfighting unconstitutional. Although we reverse the district court as to NMGA’s standing to challenge Sections 30-18-1 and-9, we affirm the judgment.
{64} IT IS SO ORDERED.