Gov. Rick Scott returned to the state Capitol Thursday evening and sat down with members of the Dream Defenders organization, which had been staging a sit-in protest since Tuesday.
Spurred by the George Zimmerman verdict last weekend, the group bused in hundreds of protesters, mostly college students from around the state, to demand that Scott call a special session to review the "Stand Your Ground" law.
Scott had already stated to the group that he had no plans to call a special session. But on Thursday, he finally came face-to-face with them.
Scott sat down with seven members of the group to discuss their demands. But all Scott offered was his decision to call for a Day of Unity on Sunday, and went with his old tried and true "willing to listen to your ideas" thing that he does.
But, from the beginning, the organization has been clear on their "ideas."
And that is, it wants Scott and the Florida legislature to address the state of the Stand Your Ground law, as well as deal with racial profiling and what the group calls "a war on youth that paints us as criminals and funnels us out of schools and into jails."
The group has vowed to continue its sit-in until Scott calls that special session or, at the very least, offers some kind of leadership and does something more than arbitrarily call for a "day of unity," and pander to the group by saying he'd be willing to listen to its ideas.
The Dream Defenders team left its face-to-face meeting with Scott unimpressed and disappointed, expressing frustration on Twitter:
Rick Scott decided not to be a leader tonight! We believe in the power of the people! we need you all here @ 10am tomorrow #TrayvonMartinAct
— The Dream Defenders (@Dreamdefenders) July 19, 2013
The group also released a statement hours after meeting with Scott, saying, that "the governor has refused to acknowledge this state of emergency, so we will continue to stay in the Capitol until Scott shows leadership and convenes for a special session of legislature."
Curtis Herro, Field Director of Dream Defenders added, "Rick Scott has awoken a sleeping giant. We are going to work."
When asked about the sit-in, Scott simply replied, "I think it is great that people are exercising their voices."
Dream Defenders is calling for those who wish to protest with them to join them in Tallahassee.
Follow Chris Joseph on Twitter
Follow @NewTimesBroward
