Cruces council tables gun restriction measure
Resolution intended to urge action against semiautomatic weapons
LAS CRUCES — A standingroom-only crowd packed the Las Cruces City Council meeting Monday, where councilors voted to table a resolution asking the governor and state lawmakers to restrict semiautomatic weapons.
Some members of the audience openly carried firearms.
“I’d like members of the public to understand restrict is not the same thing as ban,” said Councilor Greg Smith, who introduced the resolution.
Smith said the “Resolution to Better Ensure the Safety of Students in Las Cruces Schools” was in response to “parents and grandparents” who were concerned after lockdowns at some schools following threats made on social media.
“I should not be afraid to go to school,” Rigel Liefeld, a student at Las Cruces High School, told the council.
She said students had to hide
during a lockdown Feb. 22 because they didn’t know if a threat was real.
Siveyya Hussain, the mother of another student at Las Cruces High, said she was in favor of tighter gun control because during a recent lockdown texts of “‘I love you I have to hide now,’ flew across Las Cruces.”
The mayor and council repeatedly made the point that they do not have the power to change gun laws.
A majority of those who spoke during the meeting opposed councilors advocating to limit the sale and ownership of semiautomatic weapons.
At least two dozen gun owners stood in the back of the room, openly carrying their weapons. A few brought semiautomatic rifles and pistols into the council chambers.
“I will not be a student who will sit in a corner and watch other students die,” said Roberto Sala, an 18-year-old high school student and gun owner.
Sala told council members he knew one of the students killed in the Aztec High School shooting.
Mary Anne Hendrickson, a Las Cruces resident who served in the U.S. Navy for 26 years, said she supported the resolution.
“All of our rights are managed. You don’t have carte blanche to do whatever you want with your weapons,” she said.
But Benjamin Guerrero, a Doña Ana County gun owner, said, “If you want a gun-free utopia, all you have to do is cross the border.”
Guerrero pointed out Mexico has strict gun control laws, but that has not stopped gun violence in Ciudad Juárez.
The meeting attracted people from outside Las Cruces as well.
Devan Hollibaugh said he drove from Alamogordo with three of his friends to support the Second Amendment.
“Criminals don’t follow rules, so more rules is not the way to do it. That’s never worked,” he said.
Hollibaugh said they were starting their own petition drive to counter efforts to restrict semiautomatic weapons.
Several city council members said they are gun owners themselves.
“I don’t want my rights taken away, but I believe we can do better,” said Councilor Gabriel Vasquez.
He motioned to table the resolution indefinitely so the council could have more time to discuss suggestions from the public.
Vasquez chastised gun owners who came to the meeting with their weapons.
“I wouldn’t come into an open chamber carrying openly to intimidate others,” he said.
All council members except for Jack Eakman voted in favor of tabling the resolution.
Mayor Ken Miyagishima said he was pleased by the turnout and felt there was some common ground, including support for universal background checks to include private gun sales in New Mexico.
“We probably haven’t had this much participation in years,” he said.