Gettysburg Rising has obtained a permit to hold a demonstration in the First Amendment Area to the left of the Peace Light Monument (as you are facing it) at Gettysburg National Military Park on Monday, June 16, 2025 from 4-6:30pm. This is the third in a series of demonstrations to show support for the National Park Service in light of severe budget cuts and reorganization.
The local economy is intertwined with tourism dollars spent by visitors to Gettysburg NMP, which was estimated at nearly fifty-five million dollars in 2023, and supports over six hundred jobs.
In addition to the economic significance of the park to this region, we also wish to recognize the historical importance of the Battle of Gettysburg in the history of the United States, and honor the words of Abraham Lincoln, who proclaimed that “these dead shall not have died in vain”. Speakers Dr. Scott Hancock, History and Africana Studies Professor at Gettysburg College, and Kevin Levin, Boston based historian and author of the popular Substack “Civil War Memory”, will share their testimony at approximately 5:30pm on the importance of protecting and interpreting our nation’s most historic sites, including the site of the Battle of Gettysburg and subsequent monuments, which embody both some of the proudest and most shameful moments in our history.
Participants must not park in the visitors’ lot, but rather they should park on the right side of Buford Ave and North Confederate Ave, as indicated in the attached map, with all four wheels on the pavement. Additionally, all First Amendment activity shall take place within the official First Amendment area, as indicated by four posts, and at least 10 feet from all walkways and sidewalk.
Gettysburg Rising is a grass roots group whose mission statement is “To encourage civic engagement, promote fact-based information, and promote policies that best serve the residents of Adams County”. For more information, please contact them at gettysburgrising@gmail.com .