Legislation

For many years, the ACLU and community groups have testified against passage of a primary seat belt bill unless legislation to reduce racial profiling is also enacted.

On June 8th, Governor Chafee signed into law a bill supported by the ACLU, the RI State Nurses Association, RI NOW and other groups to restrict the shackling of pregnant prisoners.

In one of the worst examples of legislative “compromise” on a hot-button issue, Rhode Island now has a civil union law that neither proponents nor opponents of marriage equality wanted.

Introduced for the past several years, the Affiliate will continue to push for strengthened racial profiling legislation.

The Senate heard testimony on a recurring piece of legislation that would allow police to pull cars over solely for seat belt violations.

This pro-civil rights legislation clarifies that plaintiffs have three years, rather than one year, to sue under the Rhode Island Civil Rights Act, a major state law prohibiting discrimination in employment and other settings.

The House removed from the Governor’s proposed budget a provision that would have allowed police to pull cars over for seat belt violations.

Though largely symbolic, the Senate passed a resolution declaring the month of May “Racial Profiling Awareness Month” to coincide with an effort by the bill’s supporters, including the Affiliate, to gather real-life stories from victims of racial profiling.