Las Vegas activists plea for passage of voting bills in Senate
Dozens gathered on the scorching cement outside the federal courthouse in downtown Las Vegas to plead for voting rights bills that currently sit with the U.S. Senate.
The protest, held in solidarity with nationwide gatherings Saturday night, honored the 58th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s March on Washington. The local gathering featured City Council members, community activists, poets from Spotlight Poetry and ACLU of Nevada Executive Director Athar Haseebullah.
Al Gourrier, a community activist who helped found the Sam L. Smith Educational Foundation, riled the crowd by reminiscing on the August day when King gave his “I Have a Dream” speech, and the Voting Rights Act that passed two summers later.
“Dr. King’s dream has not been fulfilled,” he said. “Today, the essence of that voting rights bill is practically nonexistent in the United States.”
Gourrier, echoed by National Action Network member Walter Jones, urged residents to call their senators and request the passage of the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
Tamika Shauntee, vice president of the NAACP’s Las Vegas chapter, said she fears for voters who only show up for bigger elections.
“They’re waiting for us to not show up, and then all of our rights are gone,” she said. “We need to vote every single time.”
Shauntee specifically addressed millennials, noting that few were in attendance.
Local friends Terri Nordbye, 68, and Donna Samatulski, 73 walked to the courthouse with signs demanding votes be counted and rights be protected.
“They’re trying to take away our fundamental right to vote and make it harder for people,” Nordbye said. “You cant give someone a bottle of water when they’re standing in line for five hours to vote? That’s ridiculous.”
Samatulski added, “Whether we’re Republican or Democratic, we have a right to voice our vote. To prohibit people to have access to the polls to be able to express whatever it is they wish, it’s against who we are.”
Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter.
