Molly Vick of Richmond said it was her first time to take part in a protest, but the issue was too infuriating and compelling. On her lavender shirt, she wore a sticker that said “Say No to State-Mandated Rape.’’ Just beneath the beltline of her blue jeans was a strip of yellow tape that read “Private Property: Keep Out.’’
One organizer said the event took root, was organized and publicized almost wholly through Facebook and other social media after last week’s votes on landmark anti-abortion bills racing through a legislature dominated for the first time by conservative Republicans.
“We could feel that there was a lot of outrage and emotion and people talking about these issues,’’ said Sarah Okolita, a Virginia Commonwealth University graduate student who helped arrange the Monday morning event.
The protest also came as Virginia’s highly partisan debate over abortion legislation moved into the realm of comedy and national pop culture when a segment on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live’’ lampooned ultrasound bills sponsored by Del. Kathy Byron, R-Campbell County, and Sen. Jill Vogel, R-Fauquier.
Initially, participants were kept off the interior of Capitol Square. They stood in a queue that stretched nearly three blocks on a sidewalk along the eastern perimeter of the Capitol campus. Later, after many legislators had already taken the 170-yard walk from their office building to the Capitol for their 11:30 a.m. caucus meetings and floor sessions afterward, they were allowed to take up positions inside Capitol Square.
Two or three deep, protesters lined both sides of the primary sidewalk from the General Assembly Building toward the Capitol’s west door.
Reaction from legislators varied, largely based on party affiliation.
“God bless y’all. You’re doing the right thing,’’ Del. Algie T. Howell, D-Norfolk, said as he walked past the unspeaking throng.
Del. Robert G. Marshall, R-Prince William, acknowledged it was “an impressive crowd.’’
