When people say there were fireworks at a city council meeting, it’s almost always hyperbole. It may be a more apt description for today’s 1 p.m. meeting of the Las Cruces City Council following a Facebook post by Republican candidate for probate judge, William Webb.

In response to a deadly string of school shootings, including the February 14th Florida school massacre of 17 people and the December 2017 shooting in Aztec, New Mexico, that left two student athletes dead, the City Council is scheduled to debate a resolution on guns.

Saying the Communists and Fascists on the City Council were trying to pass a resolution to outlaw the sale and ownership of automatic weapons, Webb wrote, “Come out and stand up for your rights! Peaceful armed protest is welcomed. If you are planning to open carry, please do so with unloaded weapons.”

When Mesilla Valley News asked the city about the post, a spokesman responded:

“The City is not seeking to ban assault and automatic weapons as asserted by Mr. Webb. Rather, if the Resolution is approved on Monday, the City will be asking state lawmakers to better ensure the safety of students in Las Cruces Schools. The Resolution recognizes that state law prohibits municipalities from making any laws regarding the possession of any firearms within their jurisdictions, except as to prohibit discharge, and that the Resolution asks that the New Mexico Legislature and the Governor restrict the sale and possession of semi-automatic weapons and any devices intended to convert another weapon into or simulate an automatic or semi-automatic weapon.”

Later Friday, Webb posted that the first post was not threatening and he was not organizing the protest.

Speaking to the Doña Ana County Board of Commissioners in January on behalf of now disgraced and resigned Commissioner John Vasquez, this is what Webb had to say of those protesting Vasquez’s actions.

“And no one here has the right to be offended. Yes you have the right to speech, but not the right to be offended. So ‘safe spaces’ and all this kind of stuff I think is foolishness,” Webb said.

Mesilla Valley News will bring you full coverage of the protest and meeting.

Resolutions, as opposed to ordinances, are typically opinions expressed by a governing body rather than something enacted into law. Although the City Charter does not formally distinguish between the two, the New Mexico Legislature glossary defines a resolution as: