OCTOBER 2 WOMEN'S MARCHES/RALLIES
On October 2 people rallied and marched for Women's reproductive choice (including abortion access) in many cities across Indiana including Bloomington, Columbus, Evansville, Fort Wayne, Greencastle, Hobart, Indianapolis, Lafayette, Noblesville, Valparaiso, and West Lafayette.
Here are some comments received from Indiana local Leagues:
Fort Wayne: Good crowd. No media coverage, they did talk about the DC March on TV. Registered one person to vote & distributed info to lots of folks who didn’t know about LWV. Signed several up for the newsletter 😊
Betsy Kachmar
Indianapolis: The Women’s March drew out hundreds to rally for abortion rights in Indianapolis on October 2nd. The rally was held at the Richard G. Lugar Plaza, where participants came with signs, umbrellas, and excitement despite the rain. There were some news staff there to report on the event, and several speakers. There is a sense of determination among pro-choice Hoosiers to prevent further abortion restrictions and nightmare legislation like that recently passed in Texas. There was a small group of counter protesters as well, but the overall gathering was very supportive.
Sabrina Glidden, Muncie-Delaware County League
Porter County (Valpo): I attended the Porter County Women's March and Rally with my mother Saundra. The turnout was very large and pretty diverse for the area. There were several vendor tables selling merchandise related to supporting women's rights as well as a photobooth to commemorate the event. There were about six speakers at the rally discussing topics ranging from reasons why some women chose to get an abortion, to a local Lutheran church minister offering support of choice and ending with a former state senator discussing the reasons for her departure from the state house. Everyone's testimony was very personal and powerfully connected with the crowd the idea of not only does women's rights need protecting but we also need more women in public office.
Chevroen Washington, new member of the Calumet League
Southwestern: Our rally was at the Four Freedoms Monument in Evansville. There were over 100 of us there -- and lots of good speakers. We had a couple of counter-protestors with huge sturdy signs of aborted embryos/fetuses, but many of us had brought umbrellas (which we didn't need except for a few minutes) so we blocked the counter-protestor signs with umbrellas and our own posters. Counter-protestors also drove by and honked loudly. Our local newspaper never reported on it, although a couple of local news stations mentioned it briefly before the event and one station included it in their Saturday pm coverage.
Pam Locker
Above are some of the many photos submitted by various League members. Look for more photos to be posted on the LWVIN website and Facebook page shortly.
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