Sanders, Giffords, Parkland students not coming; gun-opposition rally in Excelsior canceled

[Donkees]

By Tim Engstrom [e-mail] 13 hrs ago

Excerpt:

EXCELSIOR — A parade and rally to oppose gun violence — slated to happen Aug. 18 on Lake Street and at Commons Park in Excelsior — has been canceled.

And Bernie Sanders, a likely 2020 presidential candidate, will not be coming, organizers say.

Nancy Nord Bence, executive director of Protect Minnesota, said assurances were given to the Excelsior City Council that crowd sizes would remain manageable, around 2,000 or 3,000 people, and Sanders could have attracted around 10,000. She wants to maintain those assurances.

When city leaders read the story in the July 19 print edition of the Lakeshore Weekly News story that Sanders and former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords were slated to attend, they again raised concerns about crowd size.

Nord Bence agreed with them. She withdrew the application.

https://www.swnewsmedia.com/lakeshore_weekly/news/local/bernie-sanders-gabby-giffords-parkland-students-not-coming-gun-opposition/article_16e7176e-7f8a-5646-9017-9f015e080822.html

[bahrbearian]

1. Hold it some where else, a neighboring town, somewhere that could profit off large crowds.

[Donkees]

2. It seems they might have a new date scheduled, but no guarantee of headliners

Protect Minnesota has withdrawn its application for the Aug. 18 rally and has a prospective date of Oct. 6, she said. She noted the nonprofit has made “a substantial investment” in the event and wants to make sure the rally achieves its purpose while working hand in hand with the city.

Because Protect Minnesota is submitting a new event application, it is undetermined whether Giffords, the Parkland students or other local performers can attend, Nord Bence said.

Protect Minnesota is a nonprofit organization that advocates against gun violence and cannot invite politicians to be speakers. Protect Minnesota never contacted the Sanders campaign about attending, she said. That came from another event participant.