With the 2014 legislative session opening Tuesday, about 400 Floridians rallied in the Capitol Courtyard for what was billed as "Moral Monday."
Speakers at the rally called for lawmakers to expand Medicaid, stop the state's voter purge and roll back the “stand your ground” self-defense law.
None is likely to occur during the impending legislative session, but the protestors vowed to carry their concerns to the polls in the midterm elections this fall.
U.S. Rep. Corinne Brown, a Jacksonville Democrat, led the crowd in a chant of "It's not working" – a dig at Gov. Rick Scott, who has adopted the slogan "It's working" about his agenda of jobs and tax cuts.
"We are sick and tired of reverse Robin Hood ... robbing from the poor and working people to give tax breaks to the rich!" Brown said.
The "Moral Monday" idea comes from voting-rights protests in North Carolina last year, and has spread to Georgia and Florida this year.
Later on Monday, as the Florida Current reports, the conservative Americans for Prosperity group held a rally to deliver a different message. House Speaker Will Weatherford thanked them for supporting his priorities: tax cuts, pension reform and increased school choice.
Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, led the House's opposition to Medicaid expansion last year.
