Visual Aid: The Second, More Intimate Not Our Last Call Rally

On Tuesday, August 25, roughly 75 people attended the second Not Our Last Call Rally at the Arizona State Capitol. The protest — a follow-up event to last Thursday's initial rally — began around 9:30 a.m., circled the State Capitol Executive Tower, and proceeded to the Arizona Department of Health Services. The march lasted until after 11 a.m.

Members of the bar industry were there to protest Governor Doug Ducey's executive order that has closed businesses carrying series 6 or series 7 liquor licenses (more on that here).

Kobalt, a gay bar in Park Central, had two members in attendance. Bartender Tyler Lofton, who's been with Kobalt since 2018, says the bar has removed two-thirds of its seating, installed open garage doors, and applied to reopen — but still with no response from the state. "I'm tired of this, and broke," Lofton said.

While the second rally had fewer gatherers, it was in many ways more intimate. Protesters chanted together at the west-facing entrance to the Capitol tower. A few in the crowd entered the building to visit Governor Ducey's office. He wasn't there.