More Than 500 Moms and Children From Across U.S. Hold ‘Play-In’ Protest and Lobby on Capitol Hill

By Jason Owen 2 min read

WASHINGTON, July 13, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Amid major and growing concerns that Washington, D.C. is going backwards on climate change action and air quality rules, more than 500 moms and children organized by the Moms Clean Air Force held a “Play-In” rally and press conference in a park near the U.S. Senate office buildings.

Following the protest event, Moms and their children from nearly 40 states will meet with their corresponding members of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.

Now in its 4th year, the Play-In for Climate Action takes on a special urgency in 2017 against the backdrop of the Trump Administration’s pullout from Paris Climate Agreement and recent moves to roll back key protections at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

According to a new Moms Clean Air Force survey, the majority of U.S. moms and grandmothers — regardless of background — are concerned about climate and air pollution. See the full survey results here: http://www.momscleanairforce.org/moms-poll/. Recently, Moms Clean Air Force welcomed their one millionth member. More information about that major milestone can be found here: http://bit.ly/2tNWdKF and also at http://www.momscleanairforce.org/one-million-moms-video/.

Organized by Moms Clean Air Force, the “family friendly” demonstration took place Thursday from 9 a.m. through 11 a.m. at Upper Senate Park, 200 New Jersey Avenue NW on Capitol Hill. A news event was held from 10:15-11 a.m. at the same location.

News event speakers included: Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR); Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI); Representative Brian Fitzpatrick, (R-PA 8^th); Ben Monterroso, executive director, Mi Familia Vota; Megan Boone, lead actress, The Blacklist (TV series); Vanessa Hauc, Emmy-award-winning correspondent, Noticiero Telemundo; Victoria Barrett, plaintiff, Our Children’s Trust; and Casey Camp-Horinek, actress, Native rights activist and environmentalist.

Photos and video from the Play-In are available online at: http://bit.ly/PlayIn17.

Moms Clean Air Force is a community of over one million moms — and dads — working together to combat air pollution, including the urgent crisis of our changing climate. For more information, go to www.momscleanairforce.org or follow us on Twitter @CleanAirMoms, Instagram @cleanairmoms, or Facebook @momscleanairforce.

Play-In for Climate Action partners are: 350.org, Allergy & Asthma Network, Alliance for Climate Education, Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments, Asthma & Allergy Foundation of America, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Children’s Environmental Health Network, Citizens’ Climate Lobby — DC chapter, Clean Air Moms Action, Climate Parents, Cool Effect, Dear Tomorrow, Defend Our Future, Elders Climate Action, Evangelical Environmental Network, Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions, Green for All, Interfaith Moral Action on Climate, Interfaith Power & Light, Latina Lista, Mi Familia Vota, Mindful Healthy Life, Our Children’s Trust, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Reverb, Sachamama and WEACT for Environmental Justice.

SOURCE Moms Clean Air Force, Washington, D.C.