The Rhode Island Declaration of Peace organizing group and the American Friends Service Committee - South East New England held a vigil outside of Senator Jack Reed’s office today in downtown Providence from noon to 1 pm. Reed is the only Congressional delegate from Rhode Island who voted for yesterday’s war funding legislation - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and Representatives Patrick Kennedy and James Langevin all voted against it.
The blog Rhode Island’s Future has a post on how the Rhode Island delegation voted, which includes mention of the Declaration of Peace vigil.
The Providence Journal (login required).ran a story on Thursday about the divided R.I. delegation. At that time Whitehouse was unsure of his vote.
About ten people showed up for the vigil. AFSC brought a set of boots from its Eyes Wide Open exhibit, one pair of boots to honor each R.I. military casualty.
One member of the Declaration of Peace group called Reed’s office to see if there was anyone who could come out and explain the Senator’s vote to the vigilers, but that person was actually in a meeting with Ted Goodnight, who served with the Army in Afghanistan and Hurricane Katrina relief in New Orleans before quitting and speaking out publicly to protest the war. Goodnight joined the vigil for a few minutes before heading out, carrying a large, fluttering American flag and a sign that read “Stop Bush’s War”.