Moral Monday
February 24th, 2014 by flanewsThousands of people are expected to March on the state capitol on the eve of the legislative session next week, unhappy, because they believe key issues are being ignored.
When you see 5 year old Jaden Vidal bouncing and laughing around the capitol, you wouldn’t even know he was born with half of a heart.
“His condition is called hypoplastic left heart syndrome, which is the underdevelopment of the left side of the heart. In order to correct this, Jaden needed 3 open heart surgeries,” said his mother, Belkis Velasquez.
Jaden’s first surgery was covered by Medicaid. Expansion of the program to include one million working poor is one of the key issues driving what the NAACP is calling Moral Monday.
Moral Monday started with protests in North Carolina. Florida’s version will come next Monday, the day before the annual legislative session begins.
The rally will happen in the Capitol’s courtyard and will focus on Medicaid expansion, repealing Stand Your Ground, and ending voter suppression.
The state recently blocked an attempt to open an early voting location at the University of Florida. Jessica Lowe Minor of the league of Women voters says the denial is another example of voters having their rights tampered with.
“The league certainly disagrees with the state’s decision on that. We feel like the secretary of state should be encouraging early voting locations,” said Lowe-Minor.
Governor Rick Scott’s Secretary of State reject the UF early voting site, saying it doesn’t meet state law definition of a government owned building or community center. Groups such as the Southern Christian Leadership Council, Planned Parenthood, and the Florida Consumer Action Network are partnering with the NAACP for the event.
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