Giving blood for Free Speech - in Wisconsin
Tomorrow (Tuesday the 27th) is an odd anniversary, of sorts. The Red Cross is, once again, holding their blood drive in the Wisconsin State Capitol.
The last time the blood drive was in the Capitol, the Solidarity Sing Along moved outside as we always do when there's a scheduled event in the rotunda. A few of us went inside - some to give blood, and some to give thanks to those giving blood. My significant other was in line to donate, and I held a homemade sign that said, "Donors, thank you for giving the gift of life." Others held signs, one with a Gandhi quote. After a short time, the police came out, confiscated most of the signs, and warned the group that we would be arrested if we continued to hold signs in the Capitol.
Well, you know what we say, screw us and we multiply. When word went out about the warnings, more friends showed up in the rotunda - not only to hold signs, but some to donate blood.
What followed was a strange scene. My partner, by this time, was on a bed with a needle in one arm, and with his other hand he was holding up a sign that said, "Giving blood for Free Speech." I was standing across the rotunda, holding up my sign that, according to the police reports, was not confiscated initially because they "thought I might be a part of the blood drive." I'll take that as a compliment on my sign-making skills, seeing as how these cops have known me for almost two years now. Two of my friends were holding the t-shirts that were being given out by the group "Muslims for Life," at a table in the rotunda. There were several more signs in support of the Red Cross Blood Drive.
This all was too much for the Capitol Police. They swooped in and started arresting people. They surrounded and handcuffed the two middle-aged women who were holding t-shirts. They handcuffed the woman with the Gandhi sign. They handcuffed the woman with the I 
the Red Cross sign. By the time they were done, they had arrested, handcuffed and hauled off eight people who were quietly exercising their First Amendment rights in the Capitol. One side of the rotunda was filled with people stretched out on beds, donating blood, watching individuals on the other side of the rotunda being hauled off by the police for holding "thank you" signs.
Suddenly, the arrests stopped. There were still a few of us holding signs in the rotunda, but the police just stood back and watched.
What we didn't know was that at the very same time the arrests were happening, Judge Remington was issuing his verdict on a civil suit against the State for this very issue - violation of our civil rights. Some of our friends had sued the State because of the first arrests that happened in the Capitol for sign holding twenty months ago. While Judge Remington did not rule in our favor for that case, giving the opinion that there was much confusion and uncertainty at the time so he was going to cut the State some slack, he DID say in no uncertain terms that holding signs in the Capitol Rotunda is a protected form of speech. So Capitol Police Chief Dave Erwin called off his officers, and we were left to hold our signs in the rotunda.
By the end of the day, twelve of our group had donated blood, one for the first time, and several after they had been handcuffed, detained and ticketed by the Capitol Police. The eight people ticketed have had their initial appearances in court, and all have requested jury trials for their cases. The State shows no signs of backing down on these $200.50 citations.
And tomorrow is the return of the Red Cross Blood Drive. Many of us will be back - again, some to donate blood, and some to thank those who do. We don't know how we will be greeted by the cops, but we do know that we will be peaceful, polite, and we'll probably have some pretty creative signs.
Since the beginning of September there have been 102 citations issued by the Capitol Police to those of us exercising our First and Fourth Amendment rights in the Capitol. The citations have ranged from "leading an unpermitted event," given to some of the Sing Along participants, to "obstructing access, passage, etc." given to people holding signs or banners. We continue to show up every weekday, as we have more than 500 times, and we continue to petition our government to bring peace, love and sanity back to our state.
What can you do to help?
***First of all, you can come to the Capitol tomorrow to donate blood. We all know that there is great need, particularly heading into the holiday season.
***You can come any weekday from noon to 1:00 to join us in song at the State Capitol. You can come to listen to our new holiday music, even if you don't want to sing - though once you're there, you'll feel compelled to join in.
***And finally, if you can't come to the Capitol, you can donate to our First Amendment Protection Fund, which is helping to cover some of the court costs in this battle for free speech. The jury fee for each case is $36. For some of the activists, this is a lot of money, and it is just the beginning of the costs as we head into trial for each of these cases. Funds can be donated via PayPal, giving to the email address protectwi@gmail.com - no amount too large or too small!
Thank you to everyone, and I wish you all a safe and free holiday season.
Read more about us at:
http://cognidissidence.blogspot.com/2012/11/corporate-media-to-solidarity-singers.html
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