Hands Across the Sand protests at Newt Gingrich’s Town Hall

On March 31, Hands Across the Sand — a Florida anti-offshore drilling movement — staged a protest in front of Newt Gingrich’s American Solutions town hall meeting at the Vinoy in Downtown St. Petersburg. Protesters dressed in black to symbolize how beaches would look if there was an oil spill, and carried signs bearing anti-drilling messages such as “Oil and Water Don't Mix.” One protester went so far as to cover herself in chocolate sauce, clearly depicting the ugly effects of oil spills.

In advance of the town hall, Cathy Harrelson of Hands Across the Sand issued a call-to-action, stating, “Mr. Gingrich has elected to come here with his oil drilling message, but this is our community." Harrelson made a point of keeping the protest about drilling, and not Speaker Gingrich himself.

Inside the town hall, however, offshore drilling was not the issue.

This article appears in Mar 31 – Apr 6, 2010.