Saturday’s gun rights rally will start with march from Sylvester Park
To some, news that attendees of a gun rights rally plan to assemble Saturday in downtown Olympia just as Arts Walk is getting started for the day sounds like a recipe for trouble.
“Looks like downtown is going to be full of angry, armed right-wingers during Saturday’s Arts Walk festivities. Does this change anyone’s plans?” a Reddit user wrote, one of more than 170 comments on the post.
March for Our Rights, which is expected to draw 2,500 people, has a permit to rally on the Capitol Campus. However, aome attendees plan to meet at Sylvester Park and march to the Capitol starting at 10:30 a.m., according to the event’s Facebook page.
“I just told them, ‘Hey, we’re all responsible adults. Be respectful, be professional, be good citizens,’” said event organizer Allen Acosta, who estimates 50 to 150 people could participate in the march. “According to social media, it’s actually picking up some steam.”
This is the second year for March for Our Rights, created as a response to student-led gun control efforts following a shooting at a Florida high school. Among the scheduled speakers for Saturday’s event is Joey Gibson, leader of the right-wing group Patriot Prayer.
On Wednesday, more than two dozen state and local groups called on the state lawmakers who were scheduled to appear at the rally to pull out of the event. “On April 27, far-right groups known for espousing violence will descend upon the Washington Capital and challenge our shared belief that our country should be a safe place free from bigotry in any form,” their statement read.
Acosta, a retired Army officer who ran for state representative last year as a Libertarian, said the event is for Second Amendment advocates who support gun safety and education.
“It’s politics. I wish it wasn’t like the way it is. They’re going to exploit it,” he said of the groups’ criticism. “(Gibson) is just one speaker of many who are concerned about our community, want to build bridges, want effective solutions to the current trend that we’re seeing.”
The Department of Enterprise Services manages the Capitol Campus including Sylvester Park and issues permits for events held there. In an email, a DES spokeswoman said anytime events are expected to draw large crowds, Washington State Patrol and Capitol Security and Visitor Services staff are on hand to manage events.
Arts Walk starts at noon Saturday. The city of Olympia got a permit to use Sylvester Park as its designated free speech area, a catch-all space for people to speak, perform, whatever.
“The use is a wide use,” said Stephanie Johnson with Olympia Parks, Arts & Recreation. “It’s not necessarily political in nature.”
This story was originally published April 26, 2019 at 1:21 PM.
