Hundreds gathered on the steps of the State Capitol building Tuesday to advocate for issues like Medicaid expansion and prohibiting budget cuts to education among others — all being topics of discussion during the current legislative session.
The rally, dubbed “Enough is Enough” was coordinated by Louisiana Progress in conjunction with other organizations like Forward Louisiana and the Progressive Student Alliance of LSU, said political science and women’s and gender studies senior Adria Porch.
Porch is also an intern at Louisiana Progress and helped get the word out about the rally, she said. The organization’s goal was to advocate for more dialogue for certain bills and to ensure legislators make considerate and compassionate decisions about those in the community, she said.
One of the biggest issues at hand during the rally was Medicaid expansion. Director of the Louisiana Consumer Healthcare Coalition Moriba Karamoko was present to advocate for the implementation of the expansion.
“Under the Affordable Care Act, the state has the option to expand the Medicaid program to cover more of the population, including childless adults,” he said. “Currently we don’t cover those populations. So the decision on whether the state does it is in the governor’s hands, and the governor has said he’s not going to do it. So we’re pushing the governor to do it.”
President of the Jefferson Federation of Teachers Meladie Munch traveled to Baton Rouge to show her support for increased education funding.
Munch said she hopes the rally shows the governor and legislators there is a wide array of people affected by budget cuts that goes beyond teachers and education.
“We have to slow the train down and fix things to make the state better,” she said.
Shannon Sullivan of Red River United said state officials have a moral obligation to ensure a quality future for public education in Louisiana.
“The chickens are coming home to roost,” said Dayne Sherman, an associate professor at Southeastern Louisiana University.
Sherman spoke to the crowd from the top of the Capitol steps about higher education budget cuts and privatization of public hospitals. He said he was able to fund his higher education by using Pell grants and has used institutions like charity hospitals that are publicly funded – which he said will no longer be possible with the state’s budget cuts.
Sherman said Gov. Bobby Jindal is committing an “assault on Louisiana” by not wanting to expand Medicaid and through his actions concerning higher education, which he says also pushes a mindset that “it’s all about Bobby” and not about Louisiana.
Domestic abuse organizations were also present, seeking to send a message to Jindal about cuts to publicly funded domestic abuse centers, said Theolonious Gage with the Iris Domestic Violence Center of Baton Rouge.
Gage said she was a victim of domestic abuse twice and lost her daughter to domestic abuse in 2007. Gage said she is passionate about keeping domestic abuse centers open, and she won’t give up on the issue.
Porch was present inside the Capitol on Tuesday, where she was able to listen to legislators debate, she said. Change is occurring, she said, and representatives are listening to the community on certain issues.
Porch said a bill put forth by Rep. Patricia Smith, D–Baton Rouge, aims to restore voting rights to convicted felons after they are released from prison. Though the bill was shot down by lawmakers Tuesday, there are other issues on the table activists are still concerned about.
“You can tell there is some big change happening,” she said. “It’s cool to see something that we discuss in our private lives placed on the table.”
