The majority of political email automatically goes to the junk folder. I never designated the status, choosing instead to let Gmail haul the messages away by default. But one from Amy Reichert of Restore San Diego plopped into my inbox this morning. “Stand with us as we call on Governor Newsom to reject AB 495”, she wrote. A rally was scheduled for 10 a.m. PDT at San Diego Unified School District offices about 10 minutes’ walk (thanks to traffic lights) from my apartment. I had to go.
Depending on who you speak to, AB 495 either protects immigrant kids threatened by ICE raids or puts them at risk because the law would let seemingly anyone intercede and grab your children. The thinking there is that California is about to enable anyone to legally snatch kids—ah, for their protection. They could belong to non-immigrant families and be taken using other justifications.
I arrived about 10:20 a.m., and the rally was over—if there ever was one. I only saw two people holding signs, which suggested nothing happened. But news crews were onsite, which in context suggests that the event was really for them; something to report on and someone to interview.
The Featured Image, captured using Nikon Zf and NIKKOR Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR lens, shows the majority of everyone present at 10:25 a.m. Vitals: f/7.1, ISO 100, 1/400 sec, 29mm. The second photo is less than it seems. The woman pulled out the sign for a photographer. I luckily got a shot. Vitals: f/6.3, ISO 200, 1/400 sec, 200mm; 10:28 a.m.
In the third photo, a newsman interviews Ms. Reichert. Vitals: f/6.3, ISO 220, 1/250 sec, 200mm; 10:31 p.m. The last shot shows two other documentarians that I presume support Restore San Diego. Vitals: f/6.3, ISO 140, 1/500 sec, 200mm; 10:25 a.m.