A series of protests planned protests across the country on Saturday, July 26 will include about a dozen in Connecticut.
This weekend’s protests, billed as “Families First,” are meant to bring people together to collectively demand an end to policies that harm children, seniors and families, organizers said.
The rallies are in response to drastic cuts to Medicaid, Obamacare health insurance premiums, school nutrition programs, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), mental health programs and other social safety nets nationwide.
Slogans like “Care, not cuts” and “Families, not billionaires” are being used to market the events, which will start as early as 9:30 a.m. in some towns and run as late as 4 p.m. in others.
“We reject the administration’s actions that have gutted essential programs like Medicaid, FEMA, food stamps, school lunches, and more, all so a handful of billionaires can get tax giveaways,” organizers said in a statement. “We are coming together to say in unity: our families come first.”
The rallies are billed as nonviolent and all participants are expected to act lawfully and seek to de-escalate any potential confrontation with others who may disagree with the mission, organizers said. Weapons of any kind are not permitted at the events.
Organizers include Indivisible, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), MoveOn, MomsRising, Planned Parenthood and Families Over Billionaires, among others. In Connecticut, several of the rallies are also organized by local activists or groups.
A nationwide “No Kings Day” protest in June on President Donald Trump’s birthday has been billed as one of the biggest single-day protests in the nation’s history, with more than 2,000 events across the country simultaneously. In Connecticut, more than 10,000 people participated in the protest just in Hartford, officials estimated, which was one of about 30 rallies held in the state that day.
Here are some of the planned protests for Saturday, July 26:
9:30 a.m., Canton, Town Green
10 a.m., Middletown, corner of Washington and Main
10 a.m., West Hartford, CT Veterans Memorial, corner of South Main St. and Farmington Ave
10:30 a.m., Litchfield, 46 West St.
11 a.m., Bethel, P.T. Barnum Square
11 a.m., Killingly, Killingly Commons, in front of Dunkin
11 a.m., Salisbury, intersections of Routes 41 and 44
11 a.m., Westport, 1 Parker Harding Plaza
12 p.m., Enfield, Town Hall, 820 Enfield St.
12 p.m., New Milford, Old East Street School, 50 East St.
4 p.m., New Haven, must register for location
Some events may be cancelled or rescheduled. Always double-check with organizers. Additional events may still be planned as well that are not included in this list.
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