South Shore residents in the thick of Women's Marches

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One day after President Donald Trump was inaugurated, women, men and children by the hundreds of thousands descended on Washington, D.C., New York City and more than 60 major points around the globe to send a message to the new leader of the free world: Women’s rights are human rights.

Amid the sea of people who flooded the nation’s capital and Manhattan last Saturday were scores of South Shore residents who donned pink hats, scarves and shirts and took to the streets with placards in hand, chanting traditional civil rights slogans.

“We are defending America,” said Bob Young, of Merrick, a leader of the Bellmore-Merrick Democratic Club, who was among the marchers in Washington. “This is what the resistance looks like.”

An estimated 500,000 people attended the Women’s March in Washington, and 400,000 in New York City. There were large gatherings around the world, including in London, Amsterdam, Lisbon, Sydney, Tokyo and numerous other cities. And there were more sporadic local protests, including demonstrations in Nassau County.

Protesters said they hoped the marches would grow into a widespread, longer-lasting movement to oppose Trump’s platform, which is still taking shape, but which many fear will include:

Restrictions on reproductive rights, including a woman’s right to choose.

Looser environmental regulations.

Reduced funding for public education.

Selective restrictions on immigration to the United States by Muslims, Mexicans and others.

Limited rights for members of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community.

JoAnn Smith, the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Nassau County, said that marchers in New York City and other locales across the country sent a message that millions of people are prepared to fight attacks on fundamental civil and human rights. “Those rights include protection of reproductive health care, abortion services and access to Planned Parenthood health centers,” Smith said, “as they intersect with the rights of young people, people of color, immigrants, and people of all faiths, backgrounds and incomes.”

Leslie Rose, of Rockville Centre, a public school teacher, said she was concerned about Trump’s nominee for secretary of education, Betsy DeVos. “Her family has donated $200 million to the Republican Party, but she has zero experience in education,” Rose said. “The biggest threat coming to education is its privatization.”

Privatization would benefit “the very wealthy who are going to run [the] charter schools, to the detriment of public schools,” said Rose, who traveled to Washington with fellow members of the New York State United Teachers, a statewide union.

Lori Stahl-Van Brackle, of Valley Stream, was accompanied by her husband, Gregory, and her daughter, Ariana, at the march. “My husband came to protect us, but he also came because he believes women should have rights and he wanted to support us,” said Stahl-Van Brackle, who added that her daughter is bisexual and was upset about the election results. “She was convinced that her rights would be denied and be taken away, and we told her, ‘You’re not alone. We’re not going to accept that yesterday it was OK and now it isn’t.’”

A number of Democratic organizers said they saw the potential to make gains in Congress in the midterm elections in 2018. Saturday’s peaceful protests were among the biggest demonstrations in the nation’s history.

Trump took to Twitter to comment on the marches on Sunday morning. “Watched protests yesterday but was under the impression that we just had an election,” he wrote. “Why didn’t these people vote? Celebs hurt cause badly.”

Madonna was among the many luminaries who made appearances at the Washington march and caused a stir when she remarked that she has “thought a lot about blowing up the White House,” but she quickly added, “I know that this won’t change anything.”

Also at the Washington rally, filmmaker Michael Moore, a longtime liberal activist, urged people to get involved in their communities and make their voices heard by Congress on a regular basis. “Here’s the phone number for Congress. Ready? (202) 225-3121,” Moore said, repeating the number several times.

On Sunday, Trump wrote on Twitter, “Peaceful protests are a hallmark of our democracy. Even if I don’t always agree, I recognize the rights of people to express their views.”