Massapequa Tea Party Plans Tax Day Rally

A political protest is on tap for the area this month, as the Massapequa Tea Party recently held a meeting in to discuss their upcoming annual Tax Day rally.

They group also had a special guest speaker in the form of a volunteer U.S. border patrol guard, who gave a presentation on his experiences on the job.

Laura Gill of Massapequa was responsible for organizing this meeting, and said that despite the perception that the Tea Party Movement is affiliated with the conservative side of American politics, the Massapequa Tea Party is all about lowering taxes rather than espousing a political philosophy.

"This branch, we're actually not a partisan group," she said. "We have people that are Democrat, Republican, Liberal, Conservatives, and we do not endorse any candidates. Basically, it's just a educational situation. Everyone has the common thread that we're all concerned about taxes, and basically that's what brought us together."

"Big Government overtaxing the middle class...basically, that's what really started all this," Gill added. 

The Tea Party's annual Tax Day rally is slated to be held at the Massapequa train station on April 15 from 4-6 p.m. Maddy Randone of Massapequa described the typical scene at one of their rallies.

"Usually, we have [Town of Oyster Bay supervisor] John Venditto comes down and open up the rally, and many other speakers come," she said. "Usually, the rally takes on a life of its own. A lot of people turn out, and they just love being out on the street with their signs, protesting about the government's spending, and what it's doing to the country."

"We have the Town of Oyster Bay showmobile for the music and guest speakers," Randone added. "We'll also set up tables with information on them, we have someone from the Board of Elections come with registration cards, we give out flags...it's very energetic, and the last couple of times we stopped traffic. Sunrise Highway was backed up. It's good."

However, according to Gill, disputing taxation isn't the only thing the Tea Party is all about.

"Some people have different issues that overlap and we will let some of our members come forward and discuss them," she said. "For example, one of our members tonight, he's a border patrolman, so he's going to come forward and tell everybody about his experiences on the border and about illegal immigration."

The gentleman Gill is referring to is Pete Lanteri of Bayshore, who serves on a regular basis as a Minuteman, a self-described citizen's vigilance group. Lanteri volunteers his time patrolling the U.S./Mexican border in Texas in an attempt to deter immigrants from illegally crossing over into our country.

In Lanteri's opinion, the illegal immigration at the U.S. border is much greater than most people think.

"It's a real problem," he said. "When our own government touts border security by saying that apprehensions are down to 460,000 last year. They see that as a success, but border patrol's numbers tell the difference; even the border patrol admits that for every one illegal they catch, they miss three. So, security to them is only 1.4 million coming into the country not being caught."

Lanteri was handing out flyers containing several web addresses where residents could get more information on the subject of border security and the problems some claim are being caused by illegal immigrants in this country.

The Massapequa Tea Party's meetings are sporadic yet regular, making due with whatever free locations they can find at the time. According to Gill, members are informed of meetings and events via their website and email list.

"We are a volunteer organization...we don't collect dues, we don't have any funding," she said. "So where ever we can find a public location, that's where we have our meetings."

Jayne Costanzo of Syosset identifies with the Tea Party because, in her opinion, government is overstepping its authority.

"I'm very upset over the involvement that government has in our lives today...it's overboard," she said. "This is not what the Constitution, our country, was built from. I think it really starts at home...that we really have to be responsible for our actions. We can't expect all the handouts, and I don't think government is the answer tot he problems."

The main problem that Costanzo claims to have with the government is that they tend to be too intrusive.

"They tell us everything to do," she said. "Me, I knew there was a big change in government when they told us we had to wear safety belts. I know it's just one thing, but it's gotten to the point where they tell us everything we can do. Now Big Brother is watching us with every [traffic] light that we go through...it's just out of control."