2,500 Students Marched for Immigration Rights
2,500 metro area students converged on the state capitol yesterday to rally for immigration rights.
As they approached the Capitol, some students limped. Others were sweaty and joked about blisters and messy hair. But their faces lit up as they looked toward the Capitol steps at the hundreds of young faces and Mexican and American flags. Upon arrival, students began to speak out against proposed punitive immigration reform measures, and in favor of immigrant-friendly changes.Proving the adage that there's a spoiler in every crowd was Gov. Bill Owens. Rather than praise the students for the peacefulness of the demonstration or their commitment to working within the system to promote change, he questioned their motives:
Gov. Bill Owens, who was not at the Capitol at the time of the rally, said he believes the students are sincere but found it "odd" that they only demonstrate on school days. "I'd be much more impressed if I saw these students out marching on a Saturday," he said.Did it not occur to the Governor that the legislators these students were trying to reach don't work weekends?
Comments
Submitted by Brian Roundtree (not verified) on Thu, 2006-04-20 12:39.
The same right-wing rhetoric of Saturday demonstrations is all over the airwaves this week as well. Of course the Governor and other like-minded individuals would prefer to have these students demonstrate on days that they don't have to be at work to face them. Cowards.
Kudos to the students who exercised their First Amendment rights by skipping history class for the afternoon and making their own history.
