(The Center Square) – They don’t have a permit, but at least some members of Pierce County Republican Party and their supporters plan to show up in Olympia at noon on Thursday to protest House Democrats’ recent decision to amend the votes required to end a filibuster on the floor from a two-thirds majority to a simple majority.
On Friday, Democrats voted 54-33 to eliminate a rule that had been in place since 1893, which guaranteed free and open debate on the House floor.
Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon, D-Seattle, said on Friday that the “change was necessary to avoid instances where debate lingers on in an effort to delay the legislative process and potentially stymie legislation favored by the majority party.”
The rule change has infuriated Republicans, including Washington State Republican Party Chair Jim Walsh, who also represents Aberdeen in the House.
“Democrats in Olympia are very nervous about public outrage over their shady efforts to limit debate on the floor of the Legislature,” he texted The Center Square. “Rightly so. Left-wing legislators hoped the House rules change would be too ‘inside baseball’ for normal people to care about, but they’re wrong.”
Pierce County Republican Party Vice Chair Kristen Bridgan-Brown said she learned about the rule change last weekend and knew her fellow Republicans had to respond.
“We knew we had to do something very visual,” she told The Center Square during a Tuesday phone interview. “So, I said we need to put black tape over our mouths and tie our hands and walk into Olympia that way.”
On Sunday, she sent an application to the Legislature for a rally on Thursday, Jan. 30.
“I applied for a permit and let all the media outlets know what we were going to do, and I let Jim Walsh know what we were going to do, and it went viral super-fast,” Bridgan-Brown explained.
The next morning, she received a response from the Department of Enterprise Services notifying her that her permit request had been denied.
“I am following up on your rejected permit request – we do not have any space available to permit your event on the date requested. Please consider a different date for your event,” wrote Jessica Shaffer with DES in an email to Bridgan-Brown forwarded to The Center Square.
Bridgan-Brown indicated on the permit application that about 100 people would attend, but she was informed that her group was being denied due to other permitted events at the capitol.
“I did count up their groups [already permitted for Jan. 30] and it comes to about 1,300 people who plan to be there,” she said. “So, I guess they don’t have room for 1,400.”
Despite the denial of a permit, the group still plans to still show up in Olympia on Thursday.
“We need to be there and advocate for what’s right no matter what,” Bridgan-Brown said. “Oppression is oppression and if their intention is to suppress our legislators from speaking on the floor, it’s a loss of our constitutional rights. What’s the point of voting in legislators to represent us if they can’t even speak on the floor?”
She said the Pierce County Republican Party has submitted another application for a gathering on Feb. 4 over the same issue, but an unknown number of people plan to show up this Thursday as well.
DES responded to an email inquiring about the permit denial.
“The requested spaces were not available at that date,” wrote Adam Holdorf with DES. “If one event is permitted in a given area, we can’t issue a permit for the same area.”
The DES website regarding non-permitted gatherings at the Capitol details potential responses for groups of more than 75 people: “If we make a decision to disperse or relocate your gathering, we will work with your group to help you relocate. If we don’t have cooperation from your group, we will ask Washington State Patrol to help peacefully gain cooperation.”
