News & Commentary

As part of a nationwide effort, the ACLU of Rhode Island and five other New England ACLU affiliates today filed a lawsuit demanding government documents about the on-the-ground implementation of President Trump's Muslim bans.

The ACLU of Rhode Island today filed a "friend of the court" brief in R.I. Superior Court in support of Governor Gina Raimondo's petition to have the court release the grand jury records of the 38 Studios investigation.

The ACLU of RI is proud to testify today in support of the Community Safety Act at the Providence City Council's Ordinance Committee public hearing.  The comprehensive ordinance was spearheaded by the STEP Up Coalition to ban racial profiling and other discriminatory practices by Providence law enforcement, and "change the way that police interact with members of our community…"

The ACLU of Rhode Island and the Rhode Island Disability Law Center have sent a letter to every police chief in Rhode Island urging them to ensure their policies comply with federal anti-discrimination laws regarding accommodations for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. The letter was prompted by the organizations' recent settlement of a federal lawsuit on behalf of Woonsocket resident David Alves. In July 2015, Alves, who is profoundly deaf, was unlawfully arrested and detained overnight by Woonsocket police and was not provided an interpreter or any other services to allow him to communicate. 

ACLU of RI executive director Steven Brown issued the following statement addressing yesterday’s actions by Cranston police in ticketing individuals engaged in peaceful protest.

ACLU of RI executive director Steven Brown issued the following statement on “sanctuary city” threats from the U.S. Attorney General.

For a few years, members of the LGBTQ community and other allies have been pressing the General Assembly for passage of legislation that would ban mental health providers from engaging in “sexual orientation change efforts” (colloquially known as “conversion therapy”) with clients who are minors. While the ACLU of Rhode Island both appreciates and supports the intent behind this bill, and has been an active supporter of LGBTQ rights for decades, we have opposed the legislation, largely because of some of its potential unintended consequences. In this blog, we try to explain our position more thoroughly, especially since our opposition to the legislation does not mean we oppose other means of addressing therapists who engage in this questionable practice.

Our right to vote means little if the government imposes undue restrictions on who can run for office. Lately, we've witnessed a troubling trend to this effect. Earlier this week, we raised concerns about a proposal to bar candidates from running for office if they owed election fines. Now, the House Judiciary Committee is considering a bill that would require Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidates to publicly disclose their federal tax returns in order to appear on the election ballot in Rhode Island. Because we believe that the burdens on qualifying for the ballot should be as minimal as possible, this requirement sets a troubling precedent and is poor policy.

Governor Gina Raimondo has announced the introduction of a “Good Government Reform” package of legislation designed to “restore confidence in government.” There’s a lot to be said for that, but one of the proposals – barring candidates who owe campaign fines from running for office – should be rejected.