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Residency Restrictions Halted: Last week we filed a class action lawsuit to challenge the state’s new residency restrictions for sex offenders. This law isn’t just ineffective—it’s counter-productive and unconstitutional. With just days until many individuals would be uprooted from the residences and possibly made homeless, the ACLU obtained a 10-day temporary restraining order to stop the enforcement of the law. On Wednesday, that restraining order was extended through at least mid-January.

By Johanna Kaiser, Development & Communications Associate

A Late Pay Day. April 14 was Equal Pay Day, the day symbolizing how far into the year a woman must work to earn what a man earned in the previous year. We need to close this gap and protect women from this discrimination that has persisted well into the 21st Century. 

Our Latest Case: The ACLU on Thursday filed a lawsuit in federal district court on behalf of a North Smithfield resident, seeking the return of lawfully possessed weapons that were seized from him over six years ago by the local police department and which the department still refuses to return to him. Jason Richer, who was not facing any charges, has repeatedly requested the return of the weapons, but he has been consistently rebuffed--at one point he was told to get a court order in order to have his property returned to him. The ACLU is arguing that the department’s holding of Mr. Richer’s property without just cause violates his right to due process and his right to keep and bear arms. We successfully filed a similar lawsuit against the Cranston Police Department three years ago.