Thousands of people gathered near the Washington state Capitol Building in protest of the state’s vaccine mandate and sang the national anthem together.
The “No, you move” Rally took place on Sunday and 2,500 to 3,000 people showed up to protest the vaccine mandate for Washington’s state workers. They are required to be fully vaccinated by Oct. 18.
Kelly Coyle, former state Department of Transportation employee, told the Olympian, “We’re adults and we know how to take care of ourselves”. “I don’t believe you should force someone to inject something in their body that they don’t want and lose your livelihood”, she said.
Coyle claims she was forced into early retirement when Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee put a vaccine mandate for state workers into place. She explained that she received a religious exemption for the vaccine but was told she posed a risk to others in her office, so she decided to retire.
At one point, protesters began singing the national anthem, with many holding American flags and signs that read “Stand for health freedom” and “No forced vaccination”.
A resident from Thurston County, Dena Eagan, said “’m here to stand with all these other people. It’s our bodies, our choice”.
Protests just like this one have been happening all over the country in recent months. Teachers held a giant protest in NYC last month in protest of the mandate. Healthcare workers have also been protesting since many states have chosen to fire those who do not get the COVID vaccine.