Update: Governor Ned Lamont and U.S. Rep. Jim Himes will participate in the rally.
Lt. Governor Susan Bysiewicz will headline a gathering of concerned citizens, legislators, municipal officials and candidates from upper Fairfield County on Saturday, Oct. 5, to protest what many see as the continuing attack on women’s autonomy and the right to make decisions about their own bodies.
The rally will be at the Morehouse Pavilion, 413 Morehouse Road in Easton, at noon. Free parking is available at the Samuel Staples Elementary School next door and the nearby soccer fields. All are invited.
The event is being organized by Beth Cliff, a Democrat running for Connecticut House District 112, which serves Easton, Monroe and Trumbull. Cliff said she has a long history of fighting for women’s rights and encourages broad participation.
“We welcome everyone — of all ages and genders — to come together to show support and solidarity for reproductive rights and access,” she said. “Especially after the Dobbs decision in 2022 overturning Roe v. Wade, Connecticut must stay strong. We’re not going back.”
Bysiewicz said, “as Project 2025 lays out, Dobbs was not, and will not, be the end of these attacks on the right to health care and bodily autonomy. It’s time that these dangerous and all-out attacks on abortion access in our courts and legislatures stop — and we need candidates that will join us in that fight. This will be a tight race where every vote matters. It’s time to rise above hate, defend democracy, protect our rights — and most importantly, unite our nation.”
In addition to Bysiewicz and Cliff, slated speakers include vice chair of the Connecticut Democratic Party and district director for U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, Jimmy Tickey, State representatives, Democrats Anne Hughes, representing Easton, Redding, Weston, and Sarah Keitt (Fairfield, Trumbull), candidates for State Senate Sujata Gadkar-Wilcox (Monroe, Trumbull, Bridgeport) and Rob Blanchard (Easton, Fairfield, Newtown, Bethel), candidates for State Representative Michelle Embree Ku (Newtown) and Dottie Lerner (Trumbull, Shelton, Stratford).
Nick D’Addario, selectman for Easton, the heads of the Democratic Town Committees for Easton, Monroe, Trumbull, and Redding, and the Rev. Alan Taylor of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Westport are among others scheduled to speak. More are anticipated as the date gets closer.
“Activating our citizenry is what it’s about, and we wanted a platform to energize and validate all our voices here in this part of Connecticut,” Cliff said. “We have a voice, and we want to be heard: that’s what we’ll do on October 5.”
“In states across the country, women and concerned citizens have come together to speak out and defend our rights, and it’s made a difference,” she continued. “Look at Kansas, Kentucky and Michigan! Vermont, California, Montana and Ohio! If ever there were a time to do and not just talk, it’s now. My daughters’ futures – and those of all our children – depend on it. Get out your poster board and markers. Tell your friends. Let’s make some noise and be the difference!”
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