Costume-clad participants from the Santa Clarita Valley, the Antelope Valley and Los Angeles expressed their opinions on federal tax reform, women’s equality, health care and immigration outside of Congressman Steve Knight’s local office Tuesday.
A man in an onion costume had a poster that read “Knight’s votes makes me cry” and a woman dressed as Minnie Mouse held a sign that said, “Steve Knight stop mousing around.”
Donning a bonnet and cloak like a character from The Handmaid’s Tale, longtime Santa Clarita resident Nanette Meister said she wanted to demonstrate that women should not be silenced and have a right to birth control and maternity leave.
“I see things going backwards,” Meister said. “I don’t want these things for my grandkids. I want to move forward.”
Motivated to protest after hearing White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly’s comments on Monday calling Robert E. Lee “an honorable man,” SCV resident Sue Silwester-Rice held a sign condemning slavery.
“I read (Kelly’s comments) and was so mad,” Silwester-Rice said. “The whole thing is wrong. I still have to decorate my yard for Halloween, but being here is more important and the kids will understand.”
There are two times in Saugus resident Jocelyn Bullock’s life that she has been politically-motivated.
First was in the Philippines when residents ousted President Ferdinand Marcos and the second is now under President Donald Trump.
“There are a lot of parallelisms,” Bullock said about the presidents.
She was spurred to action when Republicans tried to pass a new health care plan because her husband has pulmonary fibrosis.
“Now it’s personal because it is affecting my family,” she said.
Executive Board Member of the Local 721 Service Employees International Union Adolfo Granados said he was concerned with the tax cuts to food stamps and the rescinding of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.
Granados works for the Department of Public Social Services and said these issues affect the people who come into his office each day.
“Anyone who works 40 hours a week should not be coming into my office because they cannot afford food,” Granados said. “The difference of $5 or $10 is huge for them.”
