CHRISTINA EICHELKRAUT / PVT The crowd greets the defeat of a resolution to petition the federal and state government to make English the official language with a standing ovation. Advertisement

A resolution that would have petitioned the federal and state legislatures to make English the official national language failed to pass on a 2-2 vote at Tuesday's Pahrump Town Board meeting.

The vote was greeted with an outburst of applause from the audience that had packed into the Bob Ruud Community Center.

The resolution, which also included verbatim sections that had been previously deleted from PTO 54 ("The English-only ordinance") calling for regulations on conducting business with illegal immigrants, was another issue that elicited much public comment and reaction from those attending the meeting.

When motioning for the resolution, board member Michael Miraglia said, "If you are a U.S. citizen, you will go along with that."

When this was met by loud cries of dissent, Miraglia responded to the crowd's yells by saying, "Then you're not a U.S. citizen."

Clerk Paul Willis, who voted to support the resolution, said, "The one thing is we are a nation of laws. And if you break the law, there has to be consequences. So the heart of this is illegals. And there are a million people standing in line to go through the proper procedures to be legal ... so if we're expected to abide by the laws, then it makes sense for proper citizens to follow the law."

Willis then asked that Section 3 of the resolution, which would have forbade businesses from closing in support of "foreign person(s), foreign flag or foreign country," be deleted.

Miraglia, who proposed the resolution, agreed to amend it.

Board member Laurayne Murray, who cast a dissenting vote against the ordinance, said she agreed with Willis about this being a nation of laws, and that a resolution to the federal government was a proper course of action.

"However, I have concerns about this particular resolution, because in addition to calling for enforcement of current immigration laws, it is an attempt to change those immigration laws," Murray said. "I can't support all the recommendations that are included in here based on upholding the Constitution, which it says in the beginning the town board is part of."

Acting Chairman Ron Johnson said, "I suggest that as the town wants to do something, that we, all of us who live together in the town of Pahrump, that we really recognize each other, say hello, kind of get to know each of us. And recognize a need for every person that is here."

When the resolution failed, with Willis and Miraglia voting for it and Johnson and Murray voting against, the majority of the crowd assembled stood up in a standing ovation.