Las Vegas activists plea for passage of voting bills in Senate

Dozens gathered connected the scorching cement extracurricular the national courthouse successful downtown Las Vegas to plead for voting rights bills that presently beryllium with the U.S. Senate.

The protest, held successful solidarity with nationwide gatherings Saturday night, honored the 58th day of Martin Luther King Jr.’s March connected Washington. The section gathering featured City Council members, assemblage activists, poets from Spotlight Poetry and ACLU of Nevada Executive Director Athar Haseebullah.

Al Gourrier, a assemblage activistic who helped recovered the Sam L. Smith Educational Foundation, riled the assemblage by reminiscing connected the August time erstwhile King gave his “I Have a Dream” speech, and the Voting Rights Act that passed 2 summers later.

“Dr. King’s imagination has not been fulfilled,” helium said. “Today, the essence of that voting rights measure is practically nonexistent successful the United States.”

Gourrier, echoed by National Action Network subordinate Walter Jones, urged residents to telephone their senators and petition the transition 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 lone amusement up for bigger elections.

“They’re waiting for america to not amusement up, and past each of our rights are gone,” she said. “We request to ballot each azygous time.”

Shauntee specifically addressed millennials, noting that fewer were successful attendance.

Local friends Terri Nordbye, 68, and Donna Samatulski, 73 walked to the courthouse with signs demanding votes beryllium counted and rights beryllium protected.

“They’re trying to instrumentality distant our cardinal close to ballot and marque it harder for people,” Nordbye said. “You cant springiness idiosyncratic a vessel of h2o erstwhile they’re lasting successful enactment for 5 hours to vote? That’s ridiculous.”

Samatulski added, “Whether we’re Republican oregon Democratic, we person a close to dependable our vote. To prohibit radical to person entree to the polls to beryllium capable to explicit immoderate it is they wish, it’s against who we are.”

Contact Sabrina Schnur astatine sschnur@reviewjournal.com oregon 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur connected Twitter.