Sen. Kathleen Vinehout: I understand why the folks who come to sing are not seeking a permit

Yesterday I wrote about Democratic State Senate Minority Leader Chris Larson’s statement that he believes participants in the Solidarity Sing Along should get a permit to exercise their rights to free assembly and free speech.

After posting about Sen. Larson’s comments, I got to wondering what Sen. Larson’s Democratic colleagues in the State Senate think about the Solidarity Sing Along and whether the participants in the SSA should get a permit. I wasn’t alone in wondering, as Doug from Friends Don’t Let Friends Vote Republican was wondering the very same thing. In order to satiate our shared curiosity, Doug and I decided to email each and every Democratic State Senator to get their thoughts on whether they believe the participants of the Solidarity Sing Along should obtain a permit before exercising their rights.

Doug emailed Sens. Miller, Risser, Lassa, Erpenbach, Jauch, and Lehman to get their thoughts, while I emailed Sens. Carpenter, Harris, Taylor, Wirch, Schilling, Cullen, and Vinehout. Doug and I didn’t email Sens. Larson and Hansen, because Sen. Larson’s on record as thinking the singers should get a permit, while Sen. Hansen is on record as supporting the singers’ right to sing without a permit.

The question we asked the Democratic Senators was simple:

As I write this I have received a response from only one Democratic State Senator – Sen. Kathleen Vinehout. Here’s her response:

Hi Zach,

The majority of people in my district just last month learned about the arrests of people who come to the Solidarity Sing-a-long. When they ask me about this situation, I tell them that I understand why the folks who come to sing are not seeking a permit. They come to exercise the rights granted them in a democracy.

The freedom of speech, freedom to assemble, including spontaneous assemblies, and the freedom to petition our democratically elected representative are all fundamental rights in our democracy. It is important for all of us to exercise those rights or we risk losing them.

Thanks,

Kathleen
State Senator
31st Senate District

When (or if) Doug and I get more responses from our Democratic State Senators, we’ll post their responses.