Dozens Gather to Protests Trump's National Emergency Declaration

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Photo credit Brendan Keany
BUFFALO (WBEN - Brendan Keany) - A local contingent of protestors gathered outside City Hall this afternoon to take part in a nationally organized rally against President Trump's national emergency declaration.

Dozens of people gathered outside City Hall this afternoon to protest President Trump’s national emergency declaration, saying this act is a clear violation of the Constitution. pic.twitter.com/sC5dJoweqz

— WBEN NewsRadio 930AM (@NewsRadio930) February 18, 2019

HAPPENING NOW: ACLU holds rally in Washington, D.C. against Pres. Trump's national emergency declaration. https://t.co/bKjSM3SGr6

— ABC News (@ABC) February 18, 2019

Below is a statement from the Working Families Party in regard to the protest:

This is not an "emergency," it’s a temper tantrum.
Trump had two years to secure funding for his wall from Republicans when they had full control of Congress. He failed. It was only after Democrats took back the House this year that he decided to shut down the government for over a month, to disastrous effect. And after that failed too, he decided yesterday — with the full blessing of Mitch McConnell — to circumvent Congress and the constitution by declaring a "national emergency" to try and redirect billions from the military, the treasury, and potentially even funds appropriated for disaster relief in Puerto Rico and California.
Trump's fake emergency will be fought in Congress, in the courts, and eventually at the ballot box. But first, we need to mobilize rapidly to show that there is overwhelming opposition to this authoritarian power grab.
That’s why the Working Families Party is joining with MoveOn and dozens of other partners this Monday at rapid response events across the country.

The protestors at City Hall say they're concerned with the President's declaration for a number of reasons.

"We're a little disgruntled with the situation in Washington D.C., and I'd like to call out...obviously there's a lot of the left here, but also the right. This is not a conservative approach, this is not a Republican approach, and it's certainly not a Christian approach - the way that this is being done," said protestor Kevin Birt. "We need to ask people like Chris Collins, 'Does this person in the White House, that you support, actually represent your views Tax and spend, that's what this guy is doing. Wait a minute, that's not something that you would support.'''

Matt and Joan O'Brien also attended, and the declaration creates a very real legal issue.

"We believe in the Constitution, and we feel this a true violation of separation of powers," they began. "National emergency has a real place for things that are urgent and don't have time to go through the proper process with Congress, but that's not the case here. This is using a national emergency when Congress made a decision and chose not to respond."

Birt added that this creates a dangerous precedent for future Presidents, whether they're Republican or Democrat.

"Ask any Republican who's thinking about this, and they understand that Trump's not going to be in office forever, and there won't be a Republican in the White House forever," said Birt. "A Democrat can turn around and do the same thing, and that point is being made everywhere. Is gun control a national crisis? I think so. Is it a national emergency? Absolutely."

But what do smaller rallies really do, especially since Buffalo is pretty far away from the nation's capital?

"I think just to start the movement," said protestor Tom Gannon. "They're having a protest in Washington D.C., I understand, and we just came down to lend our support, as little as it is."

Birt added to that, saying it's important to organize so that change can be made, even if it is relatively small.

"Obviously, this is part of a national-sized movement," he began. "As I was saying to my daughter, it's not as big as Women's March or March for Life, but they had more time to organize, this one came together over a couple of days."