Another rally planned in Olympia to protest stay-home order



OLYMPIA -- As the governor rolls out a plan for people to return to church, gym owners and other Washingtonians will be protesting at the Capitol, demanding the governor let them reopen their businesses.

Gym owners rallying at the Capitol Thursday say they're angry about a lawsuit the state Attorney General's Office filed against two gyms in Puyallup and Arlington that defied the governor's stay-home orders and allowed members to work out.

The gym owner say they took plenty of precautions, like checking people's temperatures at the door, spacing out equipment and doing more cleaning.

They say their facilities were safer than Walmart and other grocery stores that have been consistently crowded since the pandemic began.

Hundreds of people are expected at the rally Thursday. They say it will culminate with a lawsuit filed against the state challenging the stay-home order.

Meanwhile, the governor will be discussing plans to restart faith-based services in Washington as some counties move into Phase 2 of the reopening plan.

The same frustrations over business and church closures are playing out in Oregon, where 10 churches filed a lawsuit to stop the governor's ban on church gatherings.

Nearly 2,000 protesters gathered at the state Capitol in mid-April to rally against Inslee's stay-home order and business closures.