Cheyenne, Wyoming: The July 4 tax tea party at the state capital (also known as the Cowboy Tea Party) brought out a few hundred locals of all ages during a partly to mostly cloudy and breezy afternoon to hear speeches and sign various petitions. This July 4 tax tea party in Cheyenne, Wyoming affirmed three major themes in speeches: the Constitution under attack by political leaders, God, and speaking English. Here’s more about this July 4 tax tea party in Cheyenne, Wyoming. There were some interesting sayings on signs and t-shirts, including two t-shirts that stated “PROUD OWNER OF AIG amp; GM” and “PARTY LIKE IT’S 1773”. 1773 is when the Boston Tea Party took place. Many people wore red, white, and blue clothing and carried replicas of Revolutionary War era flags.
July 4 Tax Tea Party in Cheyenne, Wyoming Featured Many Speakers
After the singing of the National Anthem opened this event, a group of children from a local homeschooling group with the acronym of RECESS read from the preambles of all the 50 state constitutions (each child would take turns reading), which drew varying degrees of cheers from the crowd. It was incredible how many of these preambles mentioned God! Chris Heath, an organizer for this group, told me that about 30 of their kids participated, meaning that some read more than once.
After that, King of Glory Lutheran Church pastor by the name of Mark Maas told the crowd, tired of being taxed for bailouts and upset at the undermining of the Constitution, that the Christian faith is integral to who we are as Americans, adding, “When government replaces God, the individual loses his or her identity.” The Christian faith was mentioned a lot during this July 4 tax tea party in Cheyenne, Wyoming. As a matter of fact, the Wyoming Highway Patrol forced a local atheist Bob Decker to stand across the street from the main crowd out of concern for his safety. Decker wore signs on his front and back, including one that said “NO GODS – NO DEVIL, NO JESUS- ALL FICTION”. While Decker agrees with many of the political stands of the tea party goers, he quipped, “God is a fake concept. Bush/Cheney caused our economic problems.”
Another woman named Adriana Lone, who came over on a Fulbright Scholarship from the Republic of Moldova, spoke about oppression she faced in her country, saying that it was a crime to teach about God and how the Moldavian government controlled the mass media. She’s married to an American now, and got rousing applause when she told the crowd that she learned to speak English, another common staple of this July 4 tax tea party in Cheyenne, Wyoming, for after the conclusion of about two hours of speeches, one tent was set up where the following lyrics could be heard sung over and over: “English is the language of these United States”.
I asked one attendee and young college student by the name of Justin Ockinga why he came, and he stated his concern about our government giving themselves so much power against our free will. I asked him if he thought these tea parties would do any good, and Ockinga responded, “If enough people get together to express how much they care about their own country. There needs to be action instead of complaining. They (the powers-that-be) have to see we care.”
July 4 Tax Tea Party in Cheyenne, Wyoming: Dave Freeman Used Stirring Words
Retired Las Vegas policeman Dave Freeman gave the most rousing speech at the July 4 tax tea party. Freeman is the National Liaison to Peace Officers in an organization called Oath Keepers, which is an organization made up of police, military personnel, and veterans who are committed to defending the constitution and getting the nation’s governments to return to Constitutional principles without the use of violence, according to their website. He quoted George Washington and Thomas Paine and told the crowd to “put on the whole armor of God (from the Bible’s Ephesians, Chapter 6)”. He made it clear to onlookers about what he thought of those who oppose him and like-minded people from restoring the Republic: “I think we’re going to whip the S.O.B.’s”. At the end of his presentation at the July 4 tax tea party in Cheyenne, Wyoming, he admonished the crowd (who chose to) to raise their right hands and take an oath to defend the Constitution. Most did.
After the speeches, a number of tents were set up for the crowd regarding petition drives (for state sovereignty and family values issues) and July 4 food and drink concessions such as hot dogs and ice cream. One tent set up near the steps of the state capital was issuing out to the public a newspaper called the W.T.P. Herald Tribune, which states it’s the “Official voice from the central committee of Wyoming Tea Party, Inc.”, based in Cheyenne, Wyoming. At first, people had to pay $1 to get a copy, but then someone was going amongst the crowd during the later speeches and handed these papers out for free. Other tents had some lively discussions about personal freedoms and government intrusion, subjects discussed in the publication.
Rain began to fall on this July 4 tax tea party in Cheyenne, Wyoming around 3 p.m., as people were gathered around and in the tents. Overall, I gauged the mood as generally more laid back than the first tea party that had been held earlier in the year on April 15, which you can read more about this Associated Content article.
Sources for this July 4 tax tea party in Cheyenne, Wyoming article:
Cowboy Tea Party website: www.cowboyteaparty.com
Roy Barnes, Frustrated Citizens Attend April 15 Tax Day Tea Party Rally in Cheyenne, Wyoming: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1653635/frustrated_citizens_attend_april_15.html?cat=55, Associated Content
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