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The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island has urged Warwick City Council to amend an ordinance barring certain city employees from running for office after a worker faced losing his job if he ran for a seat in the United States Senate.

The ACLU of Rhode Island raised serious concerns about a “computer crime” bill approved by House Judiciary Committee today that would criminalize the electronic dissemination of certain images even if they were taken with the knowledge and consent of the subject. The bill, aimed at combating “revenge porn,” would levy felony charges against individuals, including members of the media, who disseminate certain “sexual images” without permission of the subject even if the image was initially shared with the subject’s consent and sharing the image did not cause harm to the subject.

As the state begins preparations for a possible flu pandemic, the RI ACLU today cautioned that Rhode Islanders face another serious consequence should an outbreak occur: the government’s potential use of extraordinary powers that could significantly diminish residents’ freedom, privacy and equality. That is because the state’s emergency health power laws, according to RI ACLU executive director Steven Brown, are “incredibly far-reaching and authorize some of the most sweeping powers in the country to deal with a health care emergency.”