Following marches
Vegas rally focuses on political action ahead of midterms
that drew huge crowds across the U.S. on Saturday — one year after President Donald Trump’s inauguration — protesters gathered Sunday on multiple continents.
LAS VEGAS — Thousands of people poured into a football stadium in Las Vegas on Sunday, the anniversary of women’s marches around the world, to cap off a weekend of global demonstrations that promised to continue building momentum for equality, justice and an end to sexual harassment.
“This is a birthday party for a movement that has only begun to flex its power to change this democracy,” Anna Galland, executive director of the progressive group moveon.org, told the crowd at the “Power to the Polls” rally at Sam Boyd Stadium.
Following marches that drew huge crowds across the U.S. on Saturday — one year after President Donald Trump’s inauguration — protesters gathered Sunday on multiple continents, including in London, Paris, Sydney, and Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The events culminated with the Las Vegas rally, which launched an effort to register 1 million voters and target swing states like Nevada in the U.S. midterm elections later this year, which could shift control of Congress.
Organizers focused on Nevada because of its swing state status and because Sen. Dean Heller is considered to be among the most vulnerable Republicans heading into the November midterms. A focus on voter registration was evident throughout the stadium as people in pink vests with clipboards sought to sign people up.
The day’s biggest cheers came when activists in Las Vegas thanked Senate Democrats, and said that the government shutdown should not end until immigrants brought to the United States as children won legal status.
“We stand in solidarity with the Dreamers and with the senators who are fighting back and saying, they are Americans too,” said Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards.
Paula Beaty, 53, a tech worker from Durham, N.C., attended the Las Vegas rally wearing an outfit recalling the women’s suffrage movement of the early 20th century. She cited the difference women made in helping Democrat Doug Jones upset conservative Republican Roy Moore for a Senate seat in Alabama in December.
“For us it’s all about women’s rights and we’re seeing them be eroded with Trump in office,” Beaty said. “The women made a difference in Alabama and we’re hoping we can flip the House and Senate with the power of women.”
There was also a push for women to not just register as voters, but as candidates. Democratic Idaho state Rep. Paulette Jordan, a member of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, drew an immense cheer when she told the crowd she was running to be not only Idaho’s first female governor, but the first Native American woman to be governor in any state.
She implored other women to join her in running for office.
The demonstrations came at a time of reckoning for many men in Hollywood, the media and other industries as women speak out about sexual misconduct and inequity in general.
Those who took part in this year’s events said they were galvanized by an avalanche of political and gender issues over the past year, as well as the #MeToo movement, which has been credited with countering widespread sexual abuse and misconduct.
Many of the marchers not only supported women’s rights, but also denounced Trump’s views on issues including immigration, abortion and LGBT rights. Demonstrators rebuked Trump’s views with colorful signs and even saltier language.
Trump dismissed the suggestion that his presidency has been bad for women. He tweeted Saturday that it was a “perfect day” for women to march to celebrate the “economic success and wealth creation” of his first year in office.
In the British capital Sunday, demonstrators carried placards reading “We Are Powerful” and “Time’s Up” and chanted outside Prime Minister Theresa May’s office as they raised grievances ranging from workplace inequities to misogynistic abuse on social media.
“Today is a call for action to bring about change,” London protest co-organizer Shola Mos-Shogbamimu said. “This is so much more than Trump.“’
The London event drew thousands of people despite sleet and snow.
Heavy rain fell on Paris protesters who gathered near the Eiffel Tower. Some of the slogans on posters at the Paris rally read “Sorry for the inconvenience, we are trying to change the world” and “Look back, march forward.”