(Richmond, VA 3/3/2012)
In the spirit of, "If it Bleeds, It Leads", there were several arrests made today in the Virginia capitol. Their offense? Sitting on the steps of the State Capitol!
(Earlier I mistakenly identified the building as the Governor's Mansion, sorry)
Speak Loud With Silence is a group that has formed to protest the extreme legislative agenda of the Virginia state legislature. The group gained national attention with its silent protest on the grounds of the state capitol on February 20. On March 3, they were at it again.
From their blog:
The attack on women's reproductive rights is larger than these two bills. A likely republican presidential candidate is against contraception! We must not settle. Virginia will be heard nationally when we defeat ALL bills limiting choice and access.
On Saturday, March 3rd, we're putting out a call out for over a thousand to march on the Capitol and stand in front of the Governor's Mansion demanding that he veto ALL these bills.
Over a thousand protesters lined up near the bell tower on Bank Street in preparation for a march on the Capitol and the Governor's Mansion. Many were prepared by the organizers' Facebook page and blog. Others just heard about the protest and showed up.
Perhaps some of you have seen this picture on Facebook. The campaign encouraged people to adopt it as their profile picture in support of the protest.
For those of you who aren't familiar, HB 1: Rights of unborn children. Provides that unborn children at every stage of development enjoy all the rights, privileges, and immunities available to other persons, citizens, and residents of the Commonwealth.
For those of you who aren't familiar, HB 462: every pregnant female shall undergo transabdominal ultrasound imaging and be given an opportunity to view the ultrasound image of her fetus prior to the abortion. The medical professional performing the ultrasound must obtain written certification from the woman that the opportunity was offered and whether the woman availed herself of the opportunity to see the ultrasound image or hear the fetal heartbeat.
visit the Speak Loud With Silence blog and Facebook page and the Women's Strikeforce page
Please follow the Great Orange Squigglies of Feminism for a clip detailing Monday's protest and some photos from Saturday's protest. I'm going to try to stretch the bounds of how much HTML a DKos diary can handle.
P.S.: this article is the best review of what happened that I have seen.
P.P.S.: If you feel like donating to the legal fees of those arrested here
Monday's Protest
Speak Loud With Silence protested Virginia legislators on Monday Feb 20. Rachel Maddow covered the protest on that night's show.