Turnout for Yesterday's Pro-Gun Control Rally Dwarfed By Yesterday's Anti-Abortion Rally [UPDATE]
Around 6,000 people showed up to yesterday's gun-control rally in Washington, according to NYMag. Reuters reported a vaguer "thousands," including a group of Newtown, CT residents who were bussed in. The rally was organized by Molly Smith and One Million Moms for Gun Control; similar events were held in other cities across the country.
In San Francisco, about 300 gun-control supporters met at Chrissy Field yesterday in a rally of their own. That same day marked the West Coast Walk for Life, an annual anti-abortion protest that falls on the weekend closest to the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade.
According to the Walk for Life West Coast website, over 50,000 people attended a pro-life demonstration yesterday in front of San Francisco's Civic Center. The local ABC news affiliate counted "more than 40,000" anti-abortion demonstrators in the plaza. From KGO:
Tens of thousands of anti-abortion advocates from all over Northern California joined in the 9th annual "March for Life" rally Saturday.
The procession from Civic Center to Justin Herman Plaza tied up traffic along Market and adjoining streets for about two and a half hours. The marchers' message was very simple — overturn Roe vs. Wade
Civic Center Plaza was filled with more than 40,000 people who came to San Francisco for the annual rally. Pro-life supporters listened to various speakers on this, the 40th anniversary of the passage of Roe vs. Wade, which legalized abortion.
Earlier in the day, about 300 people showed up to the pro-choice rally held at the Justin Herman Plaza, which ended before the March for Life arrived. Two arrests were reported during the Walk for Life; none have been reported for yesterday's rally in DC.
Update: Several fake photos purporting to be aerial shots of the pro-life rallies in DC and SF have been making the rounds on Twitter. Reader Kristen sent us a few:
Arial view of the #MarchForLife in DC. So awesome to see so many for such a great cause. #ProLife #tcot twitter.com/JPOConnor55/st…
— Jameson O'Connor (@JPOConnor55) January 26, 2013
The image is actually from a protest in France.
@jeremyrgray another 2008 inauguration photo being touted as a 2013 #MarchForLife pic. #nope twitter.com/ThisIsDanBell/…
— Dan Bell (@ThisIsDanBell) January 27, 2013
The image is actually from Barack Obama's 2009 inauguration.