ATLANTA -- A huge crowd gathered Thursday at the state Capitol for the 10th annual Disability Day.

Close to 2,000 disabled Georgians and their loved ones stood in the pouring rain on the steps of the state Capitol. Earlier in the day, they had breakfast at the Georgia Freight Depot.

“The whole thing really is for people with disabilities to have the opportunity to have real lives, real jobs, real education, real homes,” said Tom Seegmueller with the Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilities.

And they cast real votes, which is why people with disabilities said they want lawmakers to pay attention to them.

“They want the real things in life that we all do,” said Suzanna Miller, a Work in Progress Coordinator with the Bobby Dodd Institute. “They want to work. They want to have a car. They want to have a family and be with each other.”

Disability participants like Christopher Henry and Renessa Ozim said they came to let lawmakers know how serious they are about working.

“We like to work hard and we do stuff,” Henry said.

“I want somebody to hire me and stuff like that,” Ozim said.

Bill Moorer volunteers for the Bobby Dodd Institute, which offers job training to Georgians with disabilities.

“It's a win-win situation,” Moorer said. “They get a job and they start contributing to society and the employer gets a dedicated, honest employee.”

Advocates for the disabled said they want lawmakers to unlock the waiting lists for independent care waivers so their loved ones can receive care in their own homes.

“It's very important for young adults to not go to nursing homes and to be able to live independently,” said parent advocate Dave Zilles.

The groups plan to hang out on Capitol Hill all day talking to lawmakers.