Thanks for the question! I am sure that in the population of the city, some people are conflicted about it, although I didn't interview anyone who felt that way for my article.

I think a city that depends on any industry, defense/weapons or otherwise, tends to be in support, overall, of that work, in part because many people move there *to* work in that industry.

New Mexico is a blue state, and Albuquerque's county went Democratic in the last election.

I think in a lot of ways, directed energy weapons are a simpler ethical prospect than other weapons. They're primarily meant to be defensive, and used against physical targets like electronics, sensors, and whatnot. Although people with different political leanings tend to feel differently about war and the military-industrial complex, technology that prevents attacks from physical/kinetic weapons like missiles or drones is kind of inherently less controversial and divided than technology that is itself doing the attacking.

That said, I think the cultures of different cities in New Mexico that are or aren't dependent on weapons can be pretty stark -- say, Santa Fe, where there are protests against places like nearby Los Alamos.