Undersheriff Jess Watkins was among the many who spoke to county commissioners Thursday as Grant County joined 10 other New Mexico counties with a resolution declaring the county a Second Amendment “sanctuary county” and recognizing a possible constitutional conflict.

An over-capacity and very vocal crowd gathered at the Grant County Commission’s regular meeting, which was relocated to the Grant County Veterans Memorial Business and Conference Center in anticipation of the large crowd, which saw gun control advocates in a distinct minority.

District 5 Commissioner Harry Browne asked how the Sheriff’s Department would determine whether the new laws were or were not constitutional, noting that he doesn’t support enforcing unconstitutional laws.

Undersheriff Watkins said the office of the sheriff would not determine what is constitutional or not.

He said the resolution would declare support for the sheriff if he chose not to enforce the law. He said the sanctuary status “lets the citizens know we support their rights to have possession of firearms, as well as to purchase firearms.”

Under federal law, transactions at gun shows and between family members are exempt from the requirement for background checks.

Senate Bill 8, which is among the proposed laws the county’s resolutions opposed, has been amended to allow for transfer of guns to family members without a background check. Browne said he supported recommending to the House they amend their corresponding House Bill 8.

District 3 Commissioner Alicia Edwards agreed, bringing up the state’s proposed “red flag bill,” House Bill 83, the Extreme Risk Protection Act, saying that she is concerned that the sheriff does not have the capacity to enforce laws involving confiscation of weapons. The legislation is intended to prevent gun violence, with provisions that would allow a court to “red flag” an individual as dangerous.

Edwards and the undersheriff agreed that HB 83 would essentially be an unfunded mandate, since there is no funding associated with it. Browne explicitly noted that a court order would be required for any confiscation of weapons, a point with which Undersheriff Watkins agreed, marking a change in the Sheriff’s Office’s interpretation of the state legislation. The sheriff had previously voiced concerns that the red flag law could violate citizens’ right to due process.

County resident Shelby Hallmark told the commission he did not think the sheriff should be able to defy the law. Shelby compared Sheriff Frank Gomez’s Second Amendment sanctuary county idea to those of the Constitutional Sheriffs movement, “which is an outgrowth of racist and anti-semitic organizations like Posse Comitatus and renegade sheriffs like Joe Arpaio.”

Sheriff Gomez has previously said he does not subscribe to that group’s beliefs. However, the sanctuary county idea is not dissimilar to the beliefs of that group, which advocates sheriff’s offices self-determining which laws they will uphold.

Many in the room shouted, “Yes it is!” when Hallmark said, “This is not the Old West.”

District 4 Commissioner Billy Billings expressed his support of both of the day’s resolutions relating to gun rights.

Resident Linda Pafford spoke out against the resolutions, saying that “states with more guns have more gun deaths.”

Browne congratulated the crowd on their display of democratic ideals. He also said he would do what is right, even if it isn’t in accordance with the major sentiment in the room.

“You are welcome to vote me out of office,” Browne said.

In the meeting’s seventh hour, the resolution declaring Grant County a Second Amendment sanctuary county finally came under consideration by commissioners.

Browne proposed several complex amendments which he said would bring the resolution more in line with legal precedent. The room fell into dead silence as these amendments were made, and then began to grumble as Browne continued, going into some of the arcane details — including punctuation — contained within legal precedents referred to in the resolution. The first and fourth amendments were incorporated into the resolution, but the second and third were not brought to a vote.

Browne’s two incorporated amendments twice removed the phrase “inalienable and individual” from the resolution, as he argued the right to bear arms is not “inalienable,” nor specific to the “individual.” Browne’s second proposed amendment would have added new language indicating “the right secured by the Second Amendment is not unlimited,” and the third proposal would have clarified that a Supreme Court decision cited in the resolution “upheld the National Firearms Act, which regulated ownership of certain types of guns.”

Browne continued, saying he did not take an oath to protect only some of the Constitution. He said that this resolution “would put Grant County above the U.S. Constitution,” adding that since the undersheriff said interpretation of the resolution would be left up to the courts, “this resolution does nothing.” He also said he found the language vague and problematic.

The crowd cheered as the commission voted to pass the Second Amendment sanctuary resolution in a 3-2 vote, with Browne and Edwards voting no.

In considering the other gun-related resolution, opposing proposed state background check legislation, Edwards read a statement avowing her allegiance to the Constitution. She said no court has found universal background checks unconstitutional, and furthermore said although she did think the red flag legislation would be upheld as constitutional, she also repeated her belief that that legislation would amount to an unfunded mandate.

That resolution also passed on a 3-2 vote, with Browne and Edwards voting against.

The crowd cheered, chanting “USA! USA!,” as commissioners called a brief recess.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The version of this story published in the Feb. 23 print edition of the Silver City Daily Press, and which was originally posted online that afternoon, incorrectly characterized the fate of four amendments made by Commissioner Harry Browne to Grant County’s “Second Amendment sanctuary county” resolution. The first and fourth amendments were incorporated into the resolution, but the second and third were not brought to a vote. This online version was corrected at 4 p.m. on Feb. 28 to reflect the actual fate of Browne’s amendments. The Daily Press regrets the error.