Please Attend to Show Opposition to Any Effort to Shoehorn Gun Control into this Important Discussion
Dear Dona Ana County NRA Member:
Last month, the Las Cruces City Council held a public hearing on Resolution No. 18-116 by Councilor Greg Smith (District 2), a measure dubbed a "Resolution To Better Ensure the Safety of Students in Las Cruces Schools." The resolution, which never attempted to address school safety, actually called on the New Mexico Legislature to pass future restrictions on the sale and possession of semi-automatic firearms and any devices or modifications which could accelerate a firearm's rate of fire. NRA-ILA alerted local members to this hearing taking place and thanks to the large number of you who showed up in opposition to this misguided proposal, the Council ultimately tabled the resolution -- but left open the possibility of revisiting and/or rewriting it at a future meeting.
The Council has now announced that it will hold a public joint work session with the Las Cruces Public Schools Board of Education on the topic of school safety on Wednesday, May 2, at 6:00pm at Onate High School, Performing Arts Center, located at 5700 Mesa Grande Dr. in Las Cruces. While public comment is not customarily taken during such work sessions, it is important that NRA members and local gun owners attend to stand in continued opposition to any proposed restrictions on our rights debated under the guise of school safety.
To its credit, the Las Cruces Public School Board has taken, and continues to consider, meaningful steps to address the issue of security at public school campuses in the city, instead of engaging in political posturing like the City Council has done. The school district currently has 10 uniformed School Resource Officers who carry firearms while on duty. There are another 30 security guards who patrol campuses that are not allowed to be armed, even though most are retired law enforcement. Last fall, the school board established a Public Safety Department in the school district, headed by a former Las Cruces police officer. The board is now considering Regulation EBCF-R, which would direct requests for additional persons to be armed on campus to the Public Safety Department and would establish requirements for individuals to meet who wish to apply for permission to carry on campus. Arming the security guards who are already on campus but who are not currently allowed to carry would be a good start.
Please make plans to attend the May 2 public joint work session. Be prepared to offer comment if requested and if appropriate, although - as we mentioned - public input has not traditionally been solicited at the Council's work sessions. If you cannot attend, please contact the City Council and School Board members and urge them to focus not on gun control, but on meaningful school safety proposals -- including consideration of arming security guards who are already patrolling public school campuses in Las Cruces.
Note: It is not known at this time whether this meeting is taking the place of one originally slated for this subject on May 14, but it appears that may be the case.
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