Rally planned Saturday at Cannery Square Plaza in support of Obamacare

Created on Thursday, 23 February 2017 | Written by Ray Pitz |

The rally, set to begin at 11 a.m., is designed as a civilized protest put on by Our Indivisible Revolution Sherwood

GAZETTE PHOTO: RAY PITZ - Patrick Briggs (along with his wife Maddie) are facilitating this weekend's rally to
support the Affordable Care Act set for Cannery Plaza Square in Old Town Sherwood.
Patrick Briggs hopes Saturday's planned "Hands Off Our Affordable Care Act Rally," set for Sherwood's Cannery
Square Plaza, sends home a clear message: The act commonly referred to as Obamacare is "something fundamentally
that cannot be repealed."

The rally, which begins at 11 a.m. is sponsored by members of Our Indivisible Revolution Sherwood, a group both
Briggs and his wife, Maddie Gavel-Briggs, formed not quite a month ago.

"We're expecting about 100 people," said Briggs, a Sherwood resident for the last two years.

He said the group is a hybrid chapter inspired by Indivisible, a group charged with resisting President Trump's agenda,
and Our Revolution, an organization built on the success of Sen. Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign.

Briggs and his wife, who moved to Sherwood from California, consider themselves facilitators of the local group more
than leaders because facilitators create new leaders, he said.

"We're a team," he said. "We work together."

Briggs said his idea is to come together peacefully on Saturday and engage with one another.

That said, Briggs said he's alerted the Sherwood police of the rally and there are no plans to block streets.

A huge Sanders supporter, Briggs said he is disappointed that the Democratic Party has not paid more attention to the
rural areas of the country.

"The Democratic Party has to become more progressive and it has to stand up for working men and women," he said.

Still, Briggs has been attending recent Democratic Party of Washington County meetings included a Feb. 22 event held
at Beaverton's Conestoga Middle School where the topic was none other than the Affordable Care Act.

So is he fearful the act will be repealed?

"I'm very worried, he said, "I wouldn't say fearful."

In addition to showing support for the ADA, an act that has resisted 60 fail attempts to repeal it, one of Our Indivisible
Revolution Sherwood's goals is to resist everything the Trump administration tries to put forward but to do it as part of a
civilized protest that isn't nasty.

"There's not much to like with what Trump's offering," said Briggs, noting that the group's focus is to dissuade people
into thinking that what the president wants for the country is normal.

"It's not normal," he pointed out. "This guy is borderline fascist."

He noted that the mantra of Our Indivisible Revolution Sherwood is "soft on people, hard on politics," saying the group
is dedicated to "showing compassion to those who differ from us and a willingness to listen."

They are, however, less flexible when it comes to stances on certain politics and policies, Briggs noted.

Saturday's rally includes tentative plans to march to the nearby Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue Station No. 33 around
noon before disbanding at 1 p.m.