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Protesters Abound at Legislature’s Only Session Day in July

Capitol Dome
file photo
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WKAR

The Legislature’s only session day in July was a magnet that drew protesters to Lansing.

There were demonstrations to support the right of women to breast feed infants in public, and to commemorate the second anniversary of the Enbridge Energy oil spill into the Kalamazoo River. The biggest protest was about 150 people who showed up to oppose new limits on abortion providers that cleared the state House last month and are now before the state Senate. 

Planned Parenthood's Megan Groen credits the protests with slowing down the bills.

“What happens when we show up is our voices are being heard,” she says.

Singing and dancing broke out in the state House gallery by demonstrators who want to keep alive the controversy over the one-day silencing of two Democrats for comments made during a floor debate. State Representative Barb Byrum led a group to the House Republican leader’s office to demand an apology, which was not forthcoming.

Rick Pluta is Senior Capitol Correspondent for the Michigan Public Radio Network. He has been covering Michigan’s Capitol, government, and politics since 1987. His journalism background includes stints with UPI, The Elizabeth (NJ) Daily Journal, The (Pontiac, MI) Oakland Press, and WJR. He is also a lifelong public radio listener.
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