Las Cruces residents speak out on political nature of event honoring El Paso victims

LAS CRUCES - Some Las Cruces residents are speaking out after Monday's solidarity event held to honor those killed in Saturday's mass shooting in El Paso, saying that the event turned into a political gathering instead of a memorial.

Two days prior to the memorial, a gunman walked into an El Paso Walmart and killed 22 people and injured dozens more.

Ever Vidaña, a Las Cruces resident who left the event early, said the memorial was not the place to speak about political ideologies. He said he was disappointed in the city for allowing such political commentary to carry on in the city's town center, Plaza de Las Cruces. 

"The people that lost their lives, they haven’t even been buried. Some of them were just identified on Monday morning and these politicians didn't wait 24 hours after the event happened to politicize their deaths," Vidaña told the Sun-News. "These people who are mourning and in shock, they're messing with their emotions."

Before the event:Las Cruces city councilors react to El Paso massacre, Trump visit

City and state officials push for stronger gun laws

At the event, several state and city officials took a stance on tighter gun control laws and criticized President Donald Trump's rhetoric on immigration.

"It is not too soon to have a call for action. It is not too soon to call out hate because hateful words have deadly consequences and it is not too late to call on action in Congress to pass universal background checks," U.S. Rep. Xochitl Torres Small, a Democrat, stated at the vigil. "The House has done that work and we are waiting and begging for the Senate to do the same. It is not too soon to join together to call out domestic terror and white supremacy, it is our job to respond with love." 

Vidaña said he went to the vigil to mourn four his hometown and did not appreciate having to listen to what he considered a liberal political agenda. 

"We don’t have just Democrats and progressives, we also have conservative citizens that care for the well-being of the people. But putting political agenda aside, I went there as a person from El Paso and I went their because I'm mourning the deaths of all these people," Vidaña said. "These politicians just did it for the cheers."

Criticizing Trump

District 3 City Councilor Gabe Vasquez on Monday evening criticized Trump's remarks about Latino immigrants.

"Like most of you I feel sadness but since Saturday I will be very honest, I feel anger. I feel resentment and I feel frustration for what has happened because I feel this could’ve been prevented. I feel angry that the America my parents fought so hard to bring me to is now divided because we chose political parties, TV networks and social media forums over each other," Vasquez told the crowd. "This president who continues to fuel the type of hatred that turns schools and shopping centers into blood-soaked crime scenes has no place in our community." 

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Vasquez, who is from Juárez, went on to say that El Paso was one of the safest cities in the country before the shooting and defended Mexican immigrants in the community. 

"I don’t have to remind anyone, but we are not rapists, we are not murderers and we’re not inferior," he said to a cheering crowd. 

Councilor Yvonne Flores, who said she spoke only Spanish when she entered the first grade in the El Paso school system, also spoke harshly about the president and his rhetoric toward immigrants. At one point, Flores called Trump "that thing in the White House."

Vidaña said he thinks the anger is justified but felt it was not necessary to use the vigil as a political platform to push for gun reform and to call for people to vote Trump out of office. 

"We need to unite and push aside partisan politics. I don’t always agree with the president but I will stand for his office because that’s what Americans do," Vidaña said. "I will call him out if I need to. I also have Mexican-American parents. I believe that the people deserve a moment to mourn, then we can address issues." 

More:Las Cruces pays tribute to El Paso victims at solidarity event

More residents speak out 

Rev. Kevin Glenn of Calvary Baptist Church in Las Cruces, said the event included several moments of prayer and messages of hope and unity that were overshadowed by political rhetoric. 

"As pastor of a multi-ethnic and politically diverse congregation, I’ve come to learn how much power words have to heal or divide. I was eager to join fellow Las Crucens in a show of solidarity and unity for El Paso. There were several moments of inspiration through songs, prayers and impassioned statements of hope and unity, despite our collective grief," Glenn said. "However, the very division against which we were gathered found its way into the rhetoric of several speakers."

Glenn said he understands people's anger but felt the vigil turned more into a rally that further divided people instead of uniting them.

"While I understand and share in the anger over this tragedy, the gathering at Plaza de Las Cruces was an opportunity for all of Las Cruces to stand in solidarity with all of El Paso — regardless of ethnicity, religion, citizenship status, sexual orientation, or political affiliation," he said. "Instead, I’m saddened and disappointed that the rally potentially deepened an already deadly divide." 

Paul Rydecki, another Las Cruces resident, stated on Facebook that he left the event after 20 minutes because he believed it turned into an anti-Trump rally.

"The mayor promised that it would not be a political event," Rydecki stated. "What a shame because all Las Crucens wanted to come together in true solidarity with our friends in El Paso."

Jacqueline Devine can be reached at 575-541-5476, JDevine@lcsun-news.com or @JackieIsDevine on Twitter.

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