Stop Defacing Our Town: Christmas Carols and Protest at Moscow City Hall

“Stop defacing our town” was written on a series of signs this evening.

Christ Church hosted a christmas caroling protest at City Hall. 

Doug Wilson kicked off the event by saying, “What a bunch of you are is a Christ Church event, and when I announced it as a political protest, that’s what it was. But I wanted to make it a Christ Church event where other people may be joining with their protests, which makes it a religious assembly, which means that the governor’s order does not apply.”

Wilson continued, “I would like to add, not that the governor’s order applies anyway, but the governor’s order does not apply. So basically, you’re here as free citizens and merry Christmas.”

Dr. Mark Reagan led the singing, as six carols were sung. 

There were three counter-protestors and no police at the event, despite the fact that the crowd of 250 protestors were ignoring the local mask mandate. 

One counter-protester named Frank, who identified as a local and conservative Christian said, “The City council has the right to make mandates, and we need to respect that. Masks are an easy way to love your neighbor. I know Doug, and the others singing are radical.”

A protestor named Eleanor Story said, “City Council is denying us our first amendment rights, and killing small businesses. Masks have not decreased infection rates, and we have had zero deaths with few hospitalizations in the area.”

Eleanor added that her family tested positive for CoronaVirus, “They stayed home for a week and self-quarantined. No one needed to tell them to stay low, even though it was nothing but a cold where they lost their taste and smell.” 

Protestor Matt Meyer shared, “I am concerned that the controls by the City Council will have a negative impact on the small businesses downtown.”

In relation to small business, Wilson said, “How many businesses have you choked out with your regulations? You are standing on the oxygen hose, and you say that you are doing it for us. It doesn’t work that way.” 

Protestor Cathay Zachariason explained her frustration, “Well, I already know what the City Council has decided: to keep the mask mandate. They aren’t listening. Not only that, they are not listening to the other scientific opinions on masks, which are fully valid.”

Wilson closed saying, “The City Council says they are exercising responsible government. The problem is that they are not practicing responsive government. They are not responding to what the people of Moscow want. They are not interested in finding out what the people of Moscow want.”

“At a previous city council meeting there was testimony after testimony after testimony about the impact the order was having on small businesses and lives, but City Council just blew by.” Wilson continued. 

Frank explained that the Moscow City Council was doing what the people wanted, “As we saw in the last election, if you took a poll of all the people in Moscow, roughly 70% would be pro-mask, and 20% anti-mask.”

Wilson told the crowd that he tried to get a referendum to get a vote on the mask mandate. The necessary form was filled, the proper number of signatures were provided, and the form was turned in. 

Wilson says that the City Council was supposed to get back to him by November 10, 2020, but, “They said the law about the referendum, about how we had to get so many signatures, putting something on a ballot so that we could all vote on it only applied to laws. Since it was an order by the Mayor and extended by the City Council, the referendum doesn’t apply.”