by Julia Parker.
The great concern for the ideals that make our country unique were expressed at the Women’s March in Myrtle Beach on January 20, 2018. As can be seen from the video, people in the coastal region from Brunswick through Horry to Georgetown Counties are deeply concerned about the direction the GOP administration is taking the country.
About 300 women and men joined together to express support for support of issues of empowerment for women:
Equal rights in the workplace,
from equal pay for equal work to the right
to work in an environment free of harassment.
#MeToo
Women’s healthcare and the right to
manage when and whether to have children
Transgender Issues
DACA and the contributions the Dreamers
make to our society
Stopping Gun Violence
The contributions that the experiences of
Women of Color bring to our politics
Protection of the environment by blocking
offshore drilling and curtailing plastic bag use
Veteran’s support
Women and men quoted on the video felt that the greatest threat to our rights as citizens of this great country is the attack by the GOP administration on First Amendment rights. The First Amendment guarantees the right of free assembly, free speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of religion. Many people were marching for the first time to exercise those rights.
Robin Gause, who is running for the South Carolina State House from District 106, called for us to take a stand for basic human rights. The Trump administration and the GOP legislators are taking human rights back to the 1960’s, she said, adding that recognition of every person as equal is being eroded, and we the people must guard our hard-earned gains. “We must protect Dreamers, because deportation of them will open the door for removal of other immigrants,” said Gause. “It’s time to take back our country.”
Dr. Kyle Horton, a Democratic candidate for the US House of Representatives from North Carolina, gave a rousing speech about the need for women’s health to be represented in Washington. “There are no female physicians in Congress,” she pointed out. “A committee of old, white males attempted to set healthcare policy for women. Not one woman was part of their committee.” She also spoke of the Veterans Administration, where she interned. “Congress voted $22 million for the VA, while we spend $17 million daily on missiles,” she observed. “What is a veteran’s life worth? It’s time for a Doctor in the House!”
On a local level, Vicki Ringer of Planned Parenthood pointed out the incongruity of the conservative GOP’s stance on birth control. There’s the attack on abortion rights, which have been the law of the land since 1973. If you’re against abortion, why be against birth control, too? That makes no sense, yet it is the position of Heather Crawford, a Republican woman in the SC House from District 68*. She, and Allan Clemmons from SC House District 107*, and Steven L. Goldfinch from SC Senate District 34* consistently vote against women’s interests. It’s time for a change.
Women know that change in 2018 lies in their hands. The grassroots Democratic Party supports all of the initiatives of the Women’s March. We invite all concerned to join with us, to shape our local politics, and to bring out the power of women at the polls to change what is happening locally, statewide and nationally.
*SC House District 68 includes Socastee, Forestbrook, Palmetto Bays, Lake Park, and Sea Winds.
*SC House District 107 includes (Dick Pond Road in the south to N. Gate Road (north of Rt. 22) and from the ocean to west of 17 Bypass)
*SC Senate District 34 includes parts of Charleston County, all of coastal Georgetown County, and Murrells Inlet, Socastee, Lake Park, Surfside Beach, Garden City, and Myrtle Beach north to Farrow Parkway in Horry County.
