Marching for the second time in as many weeks, members of the LGBT activist groups Join the Impact Chicago and the Gay Liberation Network joined representatives from other disadvantaged groups May 29 to protest Arizona's controversial Senate Bill 1070.
The protest started at around 12 p.m. in Pilsen, at the intersection of 18th and Blue Island. There, speakers from various civil rights groups railed the crowd to their cause against SB 1070.
"It is a racist law," stated Jose Herrera, an organizer with Immigrant Youth. "I'm glad so many groups, like the LGBTQ rights organizations, came out to support our cause. It will be through solidarity that we can all fight inequality."
SB 1070, or the Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act, was signed into Arizonan law in April and will go into effect July 28.
Called an "extreme" and "un-American" law by the ACLU, SB 1070 has drawn the ire of the civil-rights community for its harsh stance on illegal immigration. Particularly troubling to these groups is a provision within SB 1070 that allows the Arizona police to demand citizenship or visa papers from anyone they suspect of being in the United States illegally.
Mexican and Mexican-American communities living in Arizona have recently voiced their concern, through protests and legal action, that their communities will be disproportionally targeted by the new law.
"We are fighting a common enemy: inequality," stated Lindsey Dietzler, of Join the Impact Chicago. "There are also a lot of undocumented and immigrant LGBT Americans that we are fighting for by marching today. We want to show solidarity between our groups."
Solidarity was a key word spoken at the rally on Saturday, with multiple speakers stressing some form of unity within the minority community in order to combat inequality in general.
In addition to Mexican, immigration and LGBT-rights groups, representatives from socially active Christian organizations as well as Native American- and worker's-rights groups were on hand for the event. In total, more than 200 protesters turned out to march.
At around 1:15 p.m., event organizers announced that they would now be marching to 1101 S. Canal. The mass of 200 protesters moved down Blue Island and then Roosevelt, blocking a considerable amount of traffic along their path, until they reached the shopping complex located at the destination address.
Marchers were mostly well-received by the general public passed along their way, and there were no reports of any violent actions committed against the protesters.
The reason for stopping at 1101 S. Canal was to deliver a letter to the managers of the PetSmart branch located there. PetSmart, a pet-supplies company, is an Arizona-based business that has yet to give a statement on SB 1070. The letter delivered by protesters called on PetSmart to take a stance against the controversial law, stating "You advocate for the humane treatment of animals, now please advocate for the humane treatment of people."
The Chicago rally against SB 1070 was just one of dozens of protests held nationally May 29 against the bill. Reports from Arizona list the Phoenix rally as the largest, drawing tens of thousands of people.
"I think it was a good day," said organizer Orlando Sepulveda. "It was great to see people from so many groups come and show their support."
Join the Impact Chicago and the Gay Liberation Network can be reached by visiting their websites at www.jointheimpactchicago.com and www.gayliberation.net, respectively.
