CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Abortion rights and LGBTQ+ groups are coming together to pressure national Democrats to focus on their issues when they gather in Chicago for the Democratic National Convention (DNC) this summer.
It may sound early, but Linda Lowe, a co-founder of Chicago for Abortion Rights, said her group and others want a permit to march during the Democratic National Convention in August. She said party leaders have been all but no-shows when it comes to reproductive and transgender rights.
“More than 60 countries have liberalized their abortion rights, while in the United States we’re going further back into the dark ages, including in states directly around Illinois,” Lowe said.
Lowe and fellow reproductive rights advocate Lisa Battisfore said most Americans, when surveyed, strongly support abortion rights and LGBTQ+ rights — and Democrats know these are winning issues for them.
“Most people in the United States support abortion rights and support LGBTQ rights, and it’s the same groups of people who are against both of those things,” Lowe said.
The issue, said Lowe, is that Democrats make promises but need more pressure to follow through. Longtime Chicago gay rights activist Andy Thayer echoed that sentiment.
“[Democrats] promise a lot and then deliver very little,” said Thayer. “I remember when the Democrats had both houses of Congress and the presidency, and our demands were ignored.”
Kristi Keorkunian-Rivers, a co-founder with Stop Trans Genocide, said they won't accept empty promises anymore. The pressure's on for action, which is why they already applied for a permit to march during the DNC.
Thayer noted that many of them expect to demonstrate at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee later in 2024.
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