Pahrump Town Board Chairman Richard Billman, right, talks with an armed Pahrump resident before Tuesday night's hearing. Photo by Isaac Brekken/Review-Journal

Many Pahrump residents who opposed a controversial town ordinance may have been intimidated into avoiding the public meeting about it Tuesday night, Hispanics in Politics President Fernando Romero said Wednesday.

Romero said many oppose the ordinance, which declares English the town's official language, sets restrictions on flying foreign flags and denies town benefits to undocumented immigrants, but he can't blame them for not showing up to urge its rejection.

"They (the opponents) were probably fearful, thinking, 'Well, what would those people have done and who would they have taken their ire out on?' " he said.

The board's decision in favor of the ordinance came after a vitriolic hour-long public meeting and was greeted with a standing ovation from many of the approximately 250 people who attended.

Those who spoke against the ordinance, including Romero and Lee Rowland, American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada staff attorney, were booed and heckled by a crowd heavily in favor of the ordinance. At least a handful of the men were wearing guns on their hips, as is legal under state law for owners of registered handguns in Nevada.

"It was not a meeting," Romero said. "In the olden days, they called those lynch mobs."

Rowland told the board members they could count on being sued over the ordinance because it is unconstitutional.

Romero criticized town board members for failing to control the crowd and their own board members. Board member Paul Willis, who voted in favor of the ordinance, sometimes talked over ordinance opponents.

"That was the most incredible of thousands of meetings I have attended," Romero said. "The lack of respect went beyond anything I've ever seen. Democracy went out the window."

The meeting's atmosphere reminded him of his home state of Texas "before there was a Civil Rights Act."

"There were still signs on restaurants saying, 'No dogs or Mexicans allowed,' " Romero said.

"It was a powerful feeling (Tuesday) to know that in my own country there is so much hatred and it is condoned by that public body (the Pahrump town board)."

Willis said each of the dozen or so people who spoke in opposition to the ordinance was treated fairly at the meeting.

"Everybody gets three minutes," he said. "It is an emotional issue. Unfortunately, those who were speaking against it had no idea what the ordinance was about. They were talking about racism, stuff that wasn't germane to the ordinance."

Board member Michael Miraglia, who introduced the ordinance, said everybody was treated fairly and the only "intense" part of the meeting was when Rowland and "a fellow from some Mexican group" spoke.

"I think we should have been able to respond to some of the people who objected to it because they have the wrong information," Miraglia said. "The Constitution was written for us, U.S. citizens, not other nationalities."

Town board chairman Richard Billman, who voted against the ordinance, said Willis did talk over the speakers.

"He was stepping on people. He was keyed up."

Billman said the tension at the meeting made him nervous. "With a crowd like that, it could get ugly," he said.

But, he joked, "Nobody got killed, so I felt remarkably well."

Dozens of communities nationwide have considered or adopted measures that target undocumented immigrants and non-English speakers. In Texas, the Farmers Branch City Council on Monday approved making English the city's official language and fining landlords who rent to illegal immigrants.

On Nov. 7, more than 70 percent of Arizona voters approved making English the official state language. Arizona voters also overwhelmingly approved ballot measures to prevent illegal immigrants from taking adult-education classes, getting state-funded child care assistance and paying in-state tuition at state colleges and universities.

While foes say such measures are rooted in racism, proponents say they have been forced to take matters into their hands because the federal government has not dealt with illegal immigration from Mexico.

"We're hoping this creates a groundswell that will force the federal government ... to protect the citizens and the borders of the United States," Willis said. "They're pandering to 11 million illegal aliens and reducing millions of citizens to fourth-class citizens. It's time to start defending the rights of citizens."

The Nye County Commission has distanced itself from Pahrump's ordinance, though three of its five members live in the town of about 35,000.

"Nye County has not discussed the matter at all," said Gary Hollis, chairman of the commission. "I have no comment on what the town (Pahrump) does. That's their job. They haven't asked our advice, and we haven't been following it too much."

Two lame-duck state lawmakers, Assemblywoman Sharron Angle, R-Reno, and Sen. Sandra Tiffany, R-Henderson, have filed bill draft requests with provisions similar to those in the Pahrump ordinance. Angle has requested a bill be drawn up that would designate English the official language of Nevada, while Tiffany's would contain provisions to prevent "unauthorized aliens from receiving certain benefits."

Their proposals are not likely to be prioritized because Angle and Tiffany won't be in office for the 2007 legislative session.