Legislation

Though hate crimes deserve condemnation, we opposed a piece of legislation that would have expanded the scope of the Hate Crimes Sentencing Act in a way which could have established a hate crime based solely on the defendant’s speech without a finding of animus.

Noting that this bill was not only an assault on free speech but that it would inappropriately quash important teaching and conversation around such issues as institutional racism or sexism, we opposed legislation which sought to ban the teaching of “divisive topics” in public schools.

Though intended to address the issue of police misconduct, we opposed a piece of legislation introduced on behalf of the Attorney General which could have given the state more power to investigate those protesting or organizing against police abuse.

The introduction of the Rhode Island Senate rules this session prompted our initial commentary in two specific aspects.

Prompted by a 2019 shooting in Rhode Island which highlighted interjurisdictional gaps in information among police departments, a bill was introduced which would allow the state police to create a comprehensive, statewide records management program.

Although child pornography is a scourge, we opposed a bill that carves out a new exception to the First Amendment criminalizing the possession or display of vaguely defined “child erotica” when used for the “specific purpose of sexual gratification . . . from viewing the visual portrayals.”

While ensuring a healthy workplace is a laudable goal, a piece of legislation rapidly passed by the Senate would have created a far-reaching “civility code” and imposed liability on employers or co-workers who were, among other things, “overbearing.”

“Net Neutrality” guarantees that access to the internet remains non-discriminatory and that internet service providers can’t choose what sites you have access to or how quickly you can access them.

We opposed a piece of legislation which would have made interference with traffic by standing, sitting, kneeling, or otherwise loitering on a highway a felony crime punishable by three years in prison.