Lansing — The antiwar movement was alive Sunday in Lansing as more than 50 protesters gathered at the state Capitol to urge the government to bring troops home and improve veteran services.
Carrying signs with slogans such as “United we stand for peace,” protesters marched from the Capitol to Lansing Community College, where speakers led prayers for peace and criticized the services available to returning Iraq war veterans.
Playing a drum, MSU student Dustin Fulton led the silent march he said was in honor of soldiers who died in battle.
“They wanted a very slow death march,” the German sophomore said. “You have to show your voice to change something.”
Fulton, a member of Students for a Democratic Society, said he was impressed with the overall turnout of the event.
“It was really interesting to see how many older people came out and supported the cause,” Fulton said.
“These people have a lot of heart.”
Fulton, however, wished more students would have attended.
“Students maybe have this perception that they can’t change anything,” he said.
Lou Ann Shaw, co-founder for Mid-Michigan Neighbors Unite for Peace, said protesting the war can be difficult.
“We are in a very tough spot; we have to support our children, but we are against the war,” Shaw said.
“You can support the soldiers, but you can’t support the war. It’s not just bashing Bush. Pro-peace begins with each of us and it grows from there.”
For Deb Regal, Michigan coordinator for Military Families Speak Out, pushing to end the war is personal — her son recently returned home from his second deployment to Iraq.
“I’m enormously fortunate to have him back,” Regal said.
Regal doesn’t want to see him called back to Iraq, however. The toll it takes on her mind can be unbearable, she said.
“There’s a 24/7 anxiety that’s there all the time,” Regal said.
“That is the way of life for military families, and I don’t think anyone else can understand it.”
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