Crowds of marchers turn out to rally Wichita support for ‘Vote No’ movement

Crowds turned out in downtown Wichita on Saturday for a ‘Vote No’ protest, a sign that people are angry and that momentum is growing for the movement, event organizers said.

The crowds stretched further than from Third Street to First Street as chanting protesters made a loop by City Hall, then down Main, and finally along Douglas, ending up back to A. Price Woodard Park.

No counter-protesters were visible. There was private security as well as Wichita officers, including a rooftop sniper.

Kansas voters will decide Aug. 2 whether the state constitution should include the right to an abortion. A vote no would continue that right. A vote yes would remove it, and Kansas lawmakers would be free to further restrict abortion, including banning the procedure.

Women’s March-Air Capital, which helped organize the event along with League of Women Voters Wichita - Metro, held a Vote No protest in October. The turnout wasn’t nearly what it was Saturday.

Brandi Calvert, who co-chairs the Women’s March-Air Capital with Faith Martin, said last month’s historic U.S. Supreme Court decision has rallied people. The nation’s highest court overturned the 1973 Roe v Wade decision that said women had a constitutional right to an abortion. In a concurring opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas said the court should review other precedents, including the right to same-sex marriage.

The decision now leaves it up to states to decide on abortion laws. Several states, including Missouri, had trigger laws in effect that outlawed abortions when the court made its decision. Missouri did not make exceptions for rape or incest.

Kansas will be the first state in the country to vote on the issue since the high court’s ruling. Dollars have been flowing in from out of state to support both sides. Some say what happens in Kansas could shape what happens in other states.

“Roe was overturned and that really lit a fire under (people),” Calvert said. “People, they started paying attention … Most people didn’t even know about the August election, had no idea it was on the ballot.”

Saturday morning’s march was followed by an event at Nortons Brewing Company to get people signed up to vote. The deadline to do so is Tuesday, July 12.

“I think people are angry,” Calvert said. “I think they’re ready to get out and vote, I think they’re paying attention. I think they are ready to put their foot down.”

Calvert and Martin said some church groups participated in the rally, and people were there for more reasons than just protecting women’s right to an abortion. They said some see this as government overstep.

Delaney Jones, the president of Feminist On Campus Uniting Students at Wichita State University, told the crowd through a microphone that the amendment is about abortion and much more. Kansans, she said, shouldn’t hand over these rights to “unqualified, radical politicians.”

“It’s about control, it’s about discrimination, it’s about suppression and government overreach and it’s blatant injustice,” she said as the crowd cheered.

Aaron Free, who attended with two daughters and his girlfriend, said he was there to support women and that he is trying to stay optimistic about the vote in a Republican state.

“Unfortunately in Kansas, I think it is going to go the other way, but I’m optimistic,” he said.

Martin and Calvert both acknowledged the possibility. Martin also raised concern about the language on the ballot, which was written by the Republican-dominated state Legislature. The ballot item is called Value Them Both.

“I think in Kansas,” Calvert said, “a lot of people had the mentality that it can’t happen here and people are waking up to the realization that it can happen here and if we don’t turn out to vote on August 2, it will happen here.”