Christian A. Ray, Intern
thefranklinpressnews@gmail.com
About 300 people gathered at the gazebo on Saturday, April 5, for the “Hands Off” rally in downtown Franklin. Similar demonstrations were held across the 50 states to voice concerns about Trump’s management of the country. It was reported that more than 1,400 rallies had been held across the country, which is much larger than what was expected. Forward Franklin was responsible for organizing the local rally on Saturday.
On a flyer distributed prior to the event, Forward Franklin said, “We unite for a non-partisan peaceful protest to say: hands off our democracy, healthcare, Social Security, personal data, public schools, bodies, wallets, public lands.”
Matthew Holland of Macon County Young Progressive Voters was a volunteer at the event and said the attendance for Saturday’s rally gives him hope about the future. “It shows me that there are a lot of people willing to stand up for what they believe in this area,” he said.
Rally participant Betsy Baste said, “I participated in the event because I believe that the way the current administration is going, they are doing things that are against the constitution and are illegal, and I am proud to participate with other people who feel the same way and I think that we need to continue to send strong messages that it is unacceptable to violate the constitution.”
Baste continued, “This is just the beginning. I think that as people’s financial situations are affected more strongly that more and more people are going to rise and say this is unacceptable for the billionaires and the ruling class to tell us that we don’t get to exist.”
Kim Leister said she participated because “It is very important for people to stand up and say ‘enough’ and to hold our government accountable.” Leister continued, “Hopefully the rally sends a message that we have had enough and expect our representatives to represent all of our needs.”
Aubrey Walker said she hoped, through organized civil protest, they can convince politicians to take a stand for democracy and the Constitution. “I believe the acts by the Trump administration are harmful to our country both domestically and our place in the international community. We are no longer the shining city on the hill that President Regan spoke of,” she said. “We have proven to be unreliable in support of democracy at home and abroad. Trump is destroying our institutions and tearing down support for the rule of law and our very constitution. We can legitimately disagree and debate over policy but not about the rule of law and due process our constitution affords. Trump and Republicans support neither of these tenants of our society.”
She said if protests such as the one Saturday don’t get the message across, “We will work diligently to defeat them at the ballot box at every opportunity.” Walker continued, “Coming out publicly in rallies such as this will let our politicians know that there are more of us than they might otherwise assume and will encourage other like-minded constituents, voters to get involved. We are not alone in this fight.”
Jack Parisi, a volunteer on crowd control, shared that he was relieved at how respectful people were whenever he had to lay down rules. There were also two Franklin police officers patrolling the event.
The crowd chanted in protest and carried signs with a variety of messages, and even pet dogs wore signs at the event. Holland said, “There are more of us who believe the same things, and we can no longer hide. We have to be vocal and proud of what we stand for.”