Tea Party April 15, 2009
Apr 17th, 2009 by harrison
On April 15, 2009 I covered the Tax Day Tea Party in downtown Nashville, TN. There were an estimated 10,000 people in attendance. I was shooting purely on spec, ended up servicing the photos out to the Reuters news wire service. Photos I sent to Reuters ended up as the top news photo on Yahoo News, on the Brisbane Times on-line and in many other locations the world over.
Following is an article I wrote with quotes of some of those involved in the event.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
first amendment to the US Constitution
Citizens of Nashville Tennessee exercised their first amendment right of free speech and to peaceably assemble by joining in a “Tax Day Tea Party” protest against out of control government spending and higher taxes. An estimated crowd of 10,000 assembled at the Legislative Plaza near the Tennessee State Capitol building at noon on April 15.
The participants were mostly opposed to the massive spending by the government over the past few months. Legislation including bail outs for foundering banks, auto manufacturers, pork laden budgets were just a few of the many things participants cited as their reason for joining the protests.
Lynn Gillespie Chater summed up the feeling of many when she said “I’m fed up oh I’m so fed up with the overspending, not living within the budget with people saying one thing and doing another.”
Kevin Taylor, a registered democrat, said he turned out because he was very upset with the way things were going and he felt like he had to do something.
Another participant, Kathy Breeding, said she turned out because of “Frustration with the congress and Washington and overspending and borrowing and not balancing the budget.”
US Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn, R-TN, spoke to chants of “Marsha, Marsha” at the event. She said children born today have a $70,000 tax bill and it is time to put a stop to taxing our babies to death. She also said it is time for the people to demand the Federal Government get its fiscal house in order. She blasted the 3.6 trillion dollar budget stating that it would create more debt than all the previous presidents budgets combined.
As the event ended the participants were asked to be sure all trash was taken with them, not left laying around for others to clean up.
