A large group of pro-choice activists gathered at Gibson Park last Saturday. The goal? Fight back against egregious assaults on our bodily autonomy. Activists registered voters, wrote postcards to their representatives and connected with local pro-choice candidates. But all work and no play quickly leads to burnout, so fun was also on the agenda. A free clothing giveaway, yoga, and musical entertainment all added to the spirit of community involvement.
Attendees were also treated to a visit from Congressional House Candidate, Penny Ronning. Ronning is running against Republican Matt Rosendale and Independent Gary Buchanan for Montana’s Eastern district. Ronning candidly shared her reasons for being firmly pro-choice. Rosendale’s anti-choice views are clearly established. Buchanan’s website addresses the right to privacy, but the word “abortion” is not included in that section.** Uncompromising support for reproductive freedom is a non-negotiable for many of us as we approach election season. For me, that includes openly saying the word “abortion.” Avoiding the word promotes continued stigmatization. So, Ronning’s unapologetic support for our medical freedom and willingness to say “abortion” is a welcome departure from the usual “play both sides” politics we’re all used to.
The arts have always been a haven of creativity, free speech, and peaceful protest. Live music was provided by artists Joe Ryan, Red Sky Morning from Lewistown, and Great Falls’ own Dirt Wave. All entertainers donated their time and talents in support of abortion rights. Barb Walden of Yoga! Of Course! also treated guests to a free yoga class, a self-care essential when the current dystopia is getting your down. Check out these awesome talents here: Dirtwave: https://www.facebook.com/dirtwaveMT Joe Ryan: Joe doesn’t have a facebook, but he performs every Sunday at the Black Eagle Country Club from 10am-1pm and every Wednesday at the Halftime Sports Bar from 5:30pm-8:30pm. Barb Walden Yoga! Of Course! https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100078264060601
If you weren’t able to make it Saturday, stay tuned as we’ll have many other Pro-Choice activism opportunities coming your way! Until then, enjoy these snapshots!
***updated for clarity and readability
Candidate Lela Graham speaks with Pro-Choice votersCongressional candidate, Penny Ronning, shares her Pro-Choice story with the crowdMusical artist, Joe Ryan, entertains activists while they register to vote Your intrepid author defies the heat to sport this fashionable contraception ensemble
I was pregnant when the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting happened. I remember folding laundry while tears poured down my face. Those poor children and their families. What an unthinkable tragedy. Surely, we would do something about gun violence when 20 first graders were murdered in their school.
Our politicians spoke passionately on both sides of the issue. But the Republican majority in Congress ensured that no new gun violence prevention legislation would reach the President’s desk.
2018
When the Parkland school shooting happened, high school students organized March for Our Lives. This time it seemed different. We had new energy in the gunsense fight.
When back-to-back shootings happened at an El Paso grocery store and a Dayton, Ohio bar, gun violence prevention organizers were fed up. I personally organized a rally in Great Falls to call on our members of Congress to pass stronger red flag laws and universal criminal background check legislation.
In 2021, a GOP majority in the legislature and newly elected Republican Governor Gianforte, signed into law legislation eliminating permit requirements to carry a concealed handgun in nearly all public places (H.B. 102). This law removes requirements for background checks or safety training to concealed carry. The bill also forced colleges and universities to allow anyone to carry concealed, loaded firearms on campus. The university system Montana Board of Regents filed a lawsuit over those provisions of the law and the District Court found some portions of the law unconstitutional. Montana Attorney General Knudsen appealed the ruling to the Montana Supreme Court and the case is still pending.
On Tuesday, May 24th, 2022, a man went into an elementary school in Ulvalde, Texas and murdered 19 children and 2 adults. Second, third and fourth graders. I cried in front of my third grader when I heard the news. My eight-year-old asked, “What’s wrong mommy? Why are you crying?” And I couldn’t tell her the complete truth. Because my baby has to walk into her classroom tomorrow.
Every day, I send my elementary aged children off to school and I wonder. Will this be the day? Will today be my worst nightmare? I compartmentalize it and hug them tight when they get home. And I do that over and over again like so many other American parents.
It is time for change
As our federal and state politicians eagerly pass more and more lax gun laws in a hopeless effort to appease gun rights advocates, are we safer? Does loosening of gun restrictions help? No.
When will we be the voice for the voiceless and say enough? When will we stand up to prevent these tragedies?
It is time for change. There are known regulations that balance gun ownership with public safety. Preventative measures such as universal background checks on gun sales, red flag laws, and safety training. But our politicians must have the courage to pass them into law. If our representatives won’t act, we need to elect people who will.
With love for all of our nation’s gun violence victims,
Today, the Senate took time to make important arguments about bodily autonomy. Specifically, if people with uteruses should be allowed to control said uteruses. It seems like the answer here should be simple. Of course people should be allowed to control their own uteruses. But, that’s actually not what the Senate decided.
A central figure in this argument is Montana’s own Senator Steve Daines. Adding to the practice of comparing human women to the animal kingdom, Daines highlighted his particular brand of idiocy by comparing women to…wait for it… sea turtle and eagles. According to Daines, human babies are totally comparable to the eggs laid by sea turtles and eagles. You may be thinking, “Odd. I don’t recall my mother ever laying any eggs.” We at WTF understand your confusion. So, we’ve created a quick guide to help you determine if you’re a sea turtle or an eagle.
Please answer honestly.
1. Did you emerge from the sea? 2. Have you dug a nest using all four flippers? 3. Have you ever laid 100 eggs in one sitting? 4. Did you flee to the ocean after your babies hatched?
This sea turtle was quoted as saying “Fuck The Patriarchy.”
If you answered “Yes” to 2 or more of these questions, you may be a SEA TURTLE. No flippers? Don’t worry. Just answer these next questions to find out more.
1. Do you have the urge to gather sticks, twigs, and moss? 2. Are you perched hundreds of feet up in a tree? 3. Do you catch small prey in your claws? 4. Is your wingspan between 6 – 7.5 feet? 5. Do you have feathers? If any of this checklist rings true, you’ll want to consult your doctor or wildlife veterinarian right away. You may, in fact, be an EAGLE.
Is there a third option? Something whose taxonomy is a little less avian? Perhaps, but honestly you’d likely get more respect from our government if you stuck with being an eagle.
In today’s “Questions I Shouldn’t Have To Ponder” I’m faced with a truly strange situation. After E-city Beat’s bizarre, ill-researched, and oddly sexualized attack on school board candidate Russ Herring, I’m sitting here considering when (if ever) it is appropriate to discuss a political candidate’s penis. Before last week, I’d have easily said “Never. This couldn’t possibly be relevant to a local election.” Yet, after E-city Beat clearly spent significant time staring a Herring’s, well, package, it seems the conversation is at hand. Let’s start with a relevant example. If E-City Beat downloaded a picture of me in a bikini I had shared on my personal Facebook page, we would all regard this as creepy. If they went further and then PUBLISHED that picture, claiming it made me an unfit candidate, we would all recognize that behavior for what it is- sexual harassment. The writer, Phil Fascenda, claims this picture is ill-befitting a candidate for school board. It seems Fascenda’s tune has changed since E-city Beat contributor and city commissioner, Rick Tryon’s inappropriate Facebook posts were discussed in a city commission meeting. Flash back to the City Commission meetings during the Non-Discrimination Ordinance conversations. Members of the commission were presented with a print-out of Rick’s transphobic “joke” he had shared on his page. Rick quickly retorted that this was on his personal facebook page, was merely a joke, and shouldn’t even be brought up. So, if its Rick’s personal page, Fascenda seems to think it is of no consequence, even when it is directly relevant to the question at hand. And now E-City Beat is scouring the personal pages of candidates they don’t like and attempting to find problematic posts. Here’s the thing though- a guy in his shorts (be they boxer or swimwear) is NOT problematic. Its not even inherently sexual. In fact, its only weird because Fascenda and E-City Beat tried to make it weird, claiming that Herring had an erection. Now, 99.9% of the time, it really isn’t okay to make fun of anyone’s penis size. But let’s be clear. Herring in no way has an erection in the photo and its pretty hilarious to try and claim that he does. The fact that the author tries to claim this, well, he’s basically telling on himself here. My takeaway from this desperate attempt at a smear campaign is that the folks at E -City Beat have, well, itty bitty…arguments. As we know, E-City Beat writer and everyone’s least favorite commissioner, Rick Tryon loves to talk about himself in the third person and use various nicknames which surely have never been uttered by anyone but himself. Of course, Tryon is silent about the hypocrisy of this attack by his pal at E-city Beat. I can’t help but assume that if we published anything from his personal face book page Tryon would be outraged. And it makes me wonder if Rick thinks a candidate’s penis size should be a topic of conversation in a political campaign. Although E City Beat likely can’t be held liable for what is clearly a libelous attack, I wonder what responsibility they hold for the slew of utterly false remarks made by readers in the comment section of E-City Beat about Herring as a result of their post?
Lola Sheldon-Galloway, incumbent candidate for HD 22, is once again making wildly inaccurate claims. This time it’s about marijuana. Galloway is urging the County Commission to send recreational marijuana use to the ballot this November. Sheldon-Galloway made unsubstantiated claims that providers could drain the power grid and increase crime on the frontage road. Forgive me if I am suspicious that Lola knows anything about 1) growing weed 2) the power grid and 3) local crime data. Remember, this is the woman who claimed that a woman couldn’t get pregnant from rape, and also sponsored the 20 week abortion ban. She also believes the best approach for addiction is to put people in jail longer. Lola’s lies about marijuana are no surprise. These claims are nothing new. Many Great Falls conservatives continue to treat marijuana as a moral issue while ignoring current medical and scientific understanding. Marijuana-phobia (a term I just invented) is based on ideas that have been long disproven. Whereas Sheldon-Galloway may want you to believe that a single reefer cigarette will ruin your life, that view doesn’t mesh with the current culture. We all know a ton of people that smoke weed. Your doctor. Your lawyer. Maybe not your dentist, but he probably should. Just like we know people who drink alcohol, or smoke cigarettes. If you don’t enjoy, then you can skip the circle. But as adults, we can choose our legal recreational activities, and we already did. 21,747 people voted YES and 17,986 people voted No. The “ayes” have it. Recreational marijuana is legal. We literally already voted for it. There is absolutely no reason to send the question of recreational marijuana back to the ballot. Lola being afraid that the poors will come too near her Sun Prairie mansion is not justification to ignore the will of the voters. We’ve already spoken. We’re already smoking. Rather than waste tax dollars on this conservative temper tantrum, we should be asking our city why the hell they’re leaving a 3% option tax on the table. The party of “fiscal responsibility” needs to update their thinking and quit wasting our money.
