Women's March overshadows Legislature's opening day


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SALT LAKE CITY — Thousands of demonstrators poured into the Utah Capitol with a deafening roar Monday to rally around human rights issues as state lawmakers convened the 2017 Legislature.

An estimated 6,000 people marched up State Street through a sudden snowstorm to fill the Capitol rotunda and the floors above. Their loud cheering and singing nearly drowned out legislators considering bills in the House and Senate chambers.

“It’s incredible. It blows my mind,” said Rep. Rebecca Chavez-Houck, D-Salt Lake City. “This is the voice. … This is vox populi in droves, on steroids.” Vox populi is Latin for voice of the people.

Chavez-Houck said people are raising their voices to say the presidential election doesn’t represent them on a variety of women’s issues, including equal pay, paid parental leave and reproductive rights.

“For those of us who have been part of the movement for decades, it’s great to see the new generation of activists coming forward to talk about it,” she said.

Amber Measom, who stood in the crowd with a young child strapped to her back, said, "We just want to give a cause to so many different people representing so many different things."

While Measom said she was disappointed with President Donald Trump, she expressed hope for good decisions and progress to come.

Trump’s election brought Regina Tippets, a Salt Lake mental health therapist, to her first political rally.

“I was offended by Trump saying that he could do whatever he wanted to women and that he minimized it saying it was just locker room talk. The men I know don’t talk that way. I just find that horrifying,” Tippets said over the din of the crowd.

People should unite and be compassionate, not throw sticks and stones at each other, she said.

Tippets said she hopes lawmakers take the demonstration in a positive way.

“I hope they take it as we care and that it does matter. I want to work with them, not against them. I don’t want to hateful,” she said.

The protest continued the Women's March movement that went worldwide Saturday, including in Park City, they day after Trump's inauguration. Many of the women at the rally Monday represented various causes, but many also expressed dissatisfaction with the newly elected president.

"I've been waiting since November to see some dignity, some grace. It's just been lies, lies, lies," Anne Manzies said.

She also said it's troubling that there could be such division and dysfunction in government and still see the same officials being re-elected.

House Minority Leader Brian King, D-Salt Lake City, said the rally shows that the last election has “opened a spirit of resistance.” He said it’s about a lot more than just being troubled about Trump in the White House, and it goes beyond gender issues.

Speakers from several organizations gave speeches that were nearly inaudible above the deafening noise of those in attendance. Protections against sexual assault were also an important issue, and many protesters demanded the testing of all sexual assault kits.

Women's March overshadows Legislature's opening day

Women's reproductive rights and health care were central to the protesters' messages. They defended the Affordable Care Act and worried about Trump's promise to repeal and replace the controversial law.

Not everyone shared those opinions.

"It’s really sad, the things that they’re saying, and I don’t think they really know what they’re talking about," said Charlotte Mueller, who was carrying a Trump campaign sign.

Mueller said she felt "uninvited" to the event because she is pro-life.

"But I don’t care. … I’m here to support Donald Trump and America," she said.

Utah Highway Patrol Capt. Barton Blair said there were only two or three incidents where a “spontaneous gathering” of people confronting the demonstrators had to be moved to another area of the Capitol.

"There wasn’t any assaults or anything like that,” Blair said, describing the incidents as “really pretty mild.” He estimated the crowd Monday at about 6,000 people — “probably one of the largest ones we’ve seen in here.”

Salt Lake Police Sgt. Brandon Shearer said he was not aware of any vandalism from protesters. Shearer said police accommodated the demonstration by blocking off State Street from North Temple to the Capitol, which was the short distance covered by the march.

Wearing a pink feather boa at the rally, Sen. Jim Dabakis, D-Salt Lake City, said he intends to introduce legislation to bring back the Equal Rights Amendment.

Women's March overshadows Legislature's opening day

“This is a game changer for the state of Utah, just like in 2010 when those spontaneous tea party things that broke out across the country. The Republicans and the Trump administration has gone too far. I think this is the beginning of a massive change, not only in the United States but in Utah,” said Dabakis, the state’s only openly gay legislator.

The demonstration continued for more than two hours as groups spoke to the assembled crowd who at times packed four people deep throughout the upper levels of the Capitol and filled the bottom floor to capacity.

Environmental groups also spoke on topics such as the newly declared Bears Ears National Monument and continuing concerns about air quality.

LGBT rights were also a notable topic at the event, and Equality Utah, an advocacy group for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights, was present to speak.

"It’s an important opportunity to send a message to state lawmakers that Utah’s progressive community is ready for action," said Troy Williams, the executive director of Equality Utah.

The House wrapped up for the day just as the rally heated up, but the Senate slogged through a few bills throughout the rally, even though several senators complained they were having difficulty hearing.

"We just turned up the mics,” Senate President Wayne Niederhauser, R-Sandy, said after floor time ended about the same time as the demonstration.

Niederhauser said he wasn’t sure what to take from the rally.

“I just don’t know what they’re saying. I mean, I hear the noise. So the message from the noise is this is obviously a big concern for people in our state,” he said. “I’d like to know more about what their message is.”

The Senate president said he stuck to the scheduled floor time rather than break for senators to focus on the rally because “we have work to do and we have to move forward.”

Sen. Todd Weiler, R-Woods Cross, tweeted a list of requests sent in from a demonstrator that included more spending for education, making corporations pay their fair share, improving air quality, and not cutting funding for domestic violence programs.

Weiler said the rally “sounded like freedom to me,” even though it made it harder to hear on the floor. He said he felt he needed to stay put, however.

“I feel like it’s my job. I’m supposed to be at my desk, voting for the people,” he said. “I don’t think this Legislature is going to be taking any rights away from women this year.”

Women's March overshadows Legislature's opening day

While Monday's rally was peaceful, an incident last year had some legislators on edge, leading to new security measures.

Law enforcement presence has increased at the Capitol this session, with new screening in place to enter the public seating area in the House gallery on the fourth floor. Only one of the two sets of doors to the gallery are being used as a public entrance, on the southwest side.

Blair said the public is being asked not to bring bags to the House gallery, but if they do, the bags will be searched. He said the security measures were put in place at the request of House leaders “to make sure … it’s safe for the legislators who are on the floor and the people in the gallery.”

The UHP captain said the changes were not related to the rally but to an incident last year, where the brother of executed killer Ronnie Lee Gardner stormed into the House gallery and displayed a graphic image to protest the death penalty. No changes have been made at this point for the Senate.

Contributing: Ben Lockhart

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