Ralliers outside the Dimond Courthouse downtown Tuesday evening called on Sen. Lisa Murkowski to vote “no” on the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the United States Supreme Court.
Murkowski holds a crucial vote in the Senate and has not yet stated how she plans to vote on the nomination. Sen. Dan Sullivan has said he plans to vote yes.
Former Juneau Assembly member Kate Troll opened the rally by listing the concerns several groups have with the conservative judge’s nomination.
“Did you notice his name ends in a ‘nah’? So it’s ‘nah, nada, no way’ do we want a threat to the sovereignty of our indigenous people, or to a woman’s right to control her own body?” said Troll. “Kavanaugh is also a threat to workers on the job.”
About 50 community members waved homemade signs. Representatives from the Alaska branch AFL-CIO and Alaska Native community also spoke.
Nancy Barnes performed a Tsimshian song with several other women to mark the occasion. She said she found Kavanaugh’s past statements regarding Native American interests and Native Hawaiians concerning.
“Every organization that I know of, including the Alaska Federation of Natives, have come out against the nomination of Kavanaugh,” Barnes said. “So we are here urging Sen. Murkowski: you’re our senator. Please vote no.”
Organizers said similar rallies were taking place in Fairbanks and Anchorage this week.
Earlier Tuesday, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee postponed a vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination later this week. That came after allegations from a woman who said Kavanaugh tried to sexually assault her at a party in the 1980s.
