News & Commentary

In response to a letter sent by ACCESS/RI, American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island, Rhode Island Press Association, New England First Amendment Coalition, and League of Women Voters of Rhode Island to Gov. Gina Raimondo on October 6, members of the Governor’s office staff held a meeting with the organizations today to discuss the administration’s handling of open records requests. The organizations released the following statement about today’s meeting:

This Thursday ACLU of Rhode Island members and supporters will be celebrating another year of protecting civil liberties, and there is still time for you to join us!

The American Civil Liberties of Rhode Island has raised serious concerns with a Johnston town ordinance passed last week that could impose “unwarranted, and potentially unlawful, hardship and penalties on individuals who have not engaged in fraudulent activity.” The ordinance, aimed at preventing non-residents from attending Johnston Public Schools, requires every family to submit an affidavit affirming residence their residency in the town. If they do not, the school may refuse to enroll or re-enroll a student.

The ACLU of Rhode Island and four other organizations are urging Rhode Island Attorney Peter Kilmartin to establish a uniform enforcement policy for the state’s new residency restriction law prohibiting individuals convicted of certain sex offenses from living within 1,000 feet of a school.

The ACLU of Rhode Island released the following statement today in response to reports of police actions yesterday at William E. Tolman Senior High School (VIDEO) and during the resulting protests this morning in Pawtucket:

The ACLU of Rhode Island is honoring the Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless and homeless rights advocate Megan Smith at its Annual Meeting Celebration on Thursday, October 22, at the Providence Biltmore.

The ACLU of Rhode Island issued the following statement today in response to a meeting held last week by the Department of Corrections’ probation and parole division, at which dozens of sex offenders were told they must leave their current residence in order to comply with a recently-enacted state law: “In June, the General Assembly passed a law making it a crime for certain registered sex offenders to reside within 1,000 feet of a school. Last week, individuals purportedly subject to that law were given 30 days to move or else face a five-year prison sentence. “It is the ACLU’s firm belief that, in addition to being unwarranted, misguided and counter-productive, this new law raises grave constitutional concerns. Within the month, we plan to file a lawsuit challenging the statute and seeking a court order to halt its implementation.   “It is important to emphasize the wide range of organizations – including advocates for the homeless, advocates for victims of sexual assault, the American Correctional Association, and the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers – that agree these laws are ill-advised and likely to make the community less, not more, safe. “It is unfortunate that the legislature and Governor chose to ignore that testimony when it was presented to them. It is especially disheartening and intolerable that the state has given individuals only 30 days to uproot themselves from where they may have lived for years, even if it means making them homeless. “We are hopeful that, upon careful review by a court, this unwise law will be struck down.”

By Johanna Kaiser, Communications & Development Associate

Citing a recent “pattern of disturbingly inadequate” responses to open records requests “on truly critical matters of public import,” five open government organizations have called on Governor Gina Raimondo to issue an executive order that calls on state agencies to “adopt a strong presumption in favor of disclosure in addressing requests for public information.”