Protesting ‘government control’

June 23, 2009 09:45 pm

— An organizer of “tea parties” in Athens to protest government bailouts and citizens’ “rights being taken away” said an event planned for the Fourth of July will be combined with a Decatur event.
The rally that will include Limestone County residents will be from 9 to 11 a.m. at the Gateway Shopping Center on Sixth Avenue in Decatur, said Deborah King, who organized a similar event in Athens in April.
She decided to join the Decatur event this time, she said, because of the holiday.
“Our emcee, Will Anderson of WBHP Radio, had a live broadcast already planned and asked to join with him,” she said. “I agreed to join because July 4th is such a busy time and it’s kind of a bad time to plan something like that so we wanted to try to work with him so he could be with his family, too.”
King said she and organizers of the Decatur rally are expecting about 3,000 people but she is not sure how the holiday will impact turnout.
“Some will turn out because it is Independence Day while other people will choose to be with their families, so it’s sort of a toss up in my book,” she said.
She said she wants local residents to know she is planning future rallies and they will be held in Limestone County.
“I hope this will not be too much of an inconvenience to our Limestone County Tea Party patriots,” King said.
Another rally is planned July Fourth at the Racking Horse Celebration Arena in Priceville and one at 7 p.m. the fairgrounds near Joe Davis Stadium in Huntsville, where as many as 5,000 people are expected, she said.
The rallies are not just for show.
“At each one of our rallies, we have petitions, requests, bills we’re against, bills we’re for,” she said. “Folks sign them and we let our representatives know what we’re interested in. We let them know what the people are saying.”
What protestors are saying, King said, is that they are tired of bailouts, overspending and “losing our constitutional rights,” such as gun rights and freedom of speech.
“I sat in my living room for three days after the last one making sure I had all the copies going to Congress, the Senate, the President, the Vice President, the Speaker of the House and we sent them to all the representatives we needed to send them to. We’re not just arguing, we’re not just protesting, we’re not just talking in the air. We’re getting things done. We’re signing petitions and letters and sending them on so they hear our voice.”
Anyone interested in helping at the event can contact King at (256) 559-0980.

Photos

In April, Limestone County residents turned out for a Taxpayer Tea Party, above, to protest government bailouts. A second event is planned for July Fourth to protest what organizers say is the administration’s growing control over citizens’ rights.