For one of three Halifax County residents arrested during last week’s Moral Monday at the General Assembly in Raleigh, the worth of the process can’t be immediately measured.

John Espenshade of Littleton, Gary Grant of Tillery and James Mills of Scotland Neck were among the 150 arrested as they protested legislation they believe to be harmful to average North Carolina and Halifax County citizens.

Espenshade, whose court date in Wake County is set for August 1, explained in a telephone interview this afternoon that, “Moral Monday is a day concerned about laws harmful to North Carolina families. They have rallies where people can speak. Churches, labor representatives and doctors are talking about what some of these laws are going to do to. The people were there to exercise their right to petition their legislators when the General Assembly police put them in handcuffs.”

Espenshade was working on a letter to his 10-year-old grandson when contacted by rrspin.com this afternoon. “I’m writing a letter to my 10-year-old grandson to explain why his poppy was arrested.”

The Lake Gaston resident said the protestors at last week’s Moral Monday were following a longstanding practice of trying to effect change by peaceful protests. “We have lived through times where we have seen laws that are bad laws. We know we’ve had bad laws in the North and South and we changed them. Some have risked bodily harm by going to jail. This is what we have now in North Carolina.”

Espenshade, who is part of a group in Halifax County called the Coalition for Education and Economic Security, said there were no local issues on the table when he and the others went to Raleigh last Monday.

The concerns were with statewide issues, he said. “I’m concerned about the fact they’re not expanding Medicaid and not taking federal dollars.”

He said he was concerned about efforts to suppress voters through what he best describes as a form of a poll tax. “Let’s say you have a daughter that goes to school in Wilmington. What the legislators are saying is I can no longer claim her as a dependent on income tax if she votes there. I essentially get a poll tax.”

Espenshade said he and the others also went to Raleigh to protest the proposed end to Sunday voting during early voting. “They’re trying to shorten the amount of early voting. If you don’t like the way people vote you make it harder for them to vote and say it’s illegal to vote on Sunday.”

The group is also concerned with reduced amounts of unemployment and taking money from education to give to vouchers. “My neighbors in Halifax County and local businesses are going to suffer,” he said.

“Those are just some of the examples that come to mind,” Espenshade said. “When I moved to North Carolina I saw North Carolina as one of the leading states in the South in education, public health and infrastructure. People are not aware of what the GOP is doing in North Carolina. They’re going too far, too fast and too extreme. I had hoped (Governor Pat) McCrory would be a moderate. He’s been pulled to the far extreme by the House and Senate.”

This was the first Moral Monday the group attended, an event that has been held since April 29 and sponsored by the North Carolina chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Espenshade said he has not yet determined whether the arrest was worth it. “That’s hard to say because you never know the value of social justice acts. It will have been worth it if more get involved in saying these laws are wrong. I want North Carolina to work with average families.”