They won't be dumping tea into any harbor, but they will protest taxes and what they see as big-government interference.

Today, in Lancaster and in hundreds of cities across the nation — such as Houston, Texas, Lancaster, Calif., and all the way to Olympia, Wash. — anti-tax protesters plan to hold tea parties.

Lancaster's tea party starts at 4 p.m. in Musser Park on East Marion Street. Those planning to attend are asked to bring some sealed tea boxes.

State Rep. Sam Rohrer, a Republican from Berks County, is among a list of eight speakers.

The national tea party movement is not all about taxes or wasteful government spending, he said, although they are part of it.

"I think it all has to do with people's belief that our freedoms are being usurped by the federal government and are in jeopardy of being lost altogether," he said.

It's a modern spin on the 1773 Boston Tea party when the colonists dumped tea into the Boston Harbor to protest what they believed was an unfair tax and taxation without representation.

Today's tea party topics range from the government's invasion of privacy to the abolishment of federal income taxes.

One of the local speakers is Fred Wiegand, a 49-year-old business owner from Manheim.

Wiegand will talk about the foundations of the U.S. government and the forefathers, Wiegand said.

"Our country, and the direction it's been going, has been on my heart for the last two or three years," Wiegand said.

The tea party movement began on conservative Internet blogs and was given life by the passage of the $787 billion federal economic stimulus measure in February, according to various national news stories.

It's no coincidence that the tea party date is April 15, the day tax returns are due. At least 17 events are planned in Pennsylvania.

Rohrer, who speaks at 4:30, will talk about his 10th Amendment resolution — HR 95 — which is meant to reaffirm Pennsylvania's right to govern itself on matters not defined in the U.S. Constitution.

"The federal government has exceeded their constitutional authority, and they are now tampering in areas that are outside their duty and responsibility," Rohrer said.

The reason for the amendment resolution: "People in our states know best how to run their lives. We don't need the federal government telling us what we are to do, and how we are to do it."

Jim Compton, of Boiling Springs, a retired Navy officer, is the state coordinator for the National Veterans Committee on Constitutional Affairs.

He will talk about a 2005 law that he believes has invaded privacy rights.

The Real ID Act was put in place as a security measure, partly so that various states could share information from driver's licenses. Part of the reason behind it was to prevent people from holding duplicate licenses with different names and in different states, he said.

It matches a driver's license photo with a number. That's like taking someone's fingerprints who has not done anything wrong, Compton said.

The law says, "we shall be secure in our persons...," he said. "They are violating the Constitution."

The event will end at 10 p.m. Organizers have allotted five-minute intervals for the public to speak starting at 7:30.

Attendees are asked to bring sealed tea items for donation to Milagro House, a local organization that provides services for homeless women and children.


Staff writer Robyn Meadows can be reached at rmeadows@LNPnews.com or 481-6025.