CIVIL RIGHTS RALLY INCLUDE RIC STUDENTS, ALUMNI

On Monday, Sept. 24, members from a diverse group of local
organizations, including RIC students and alumni, gathered in front
of the State House to speak out against Governor Donald L. Carcieri's
recent vetoes on several bills; encouraging the legislature to set a
date for a special override session. Those present included members
from the ACLU, Direct Action for Rights and Equality (DARE), Marriage
Equality RI, Ocean State Action, SEIU Local 1199 and United Nurses &
Allied Professionals as well as members from the Rhode Island College
and Brown chapters of Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP).

The organizations are pushing for overrides of vetoes of bills
concerning civil rights, worker rights and health care legislation.
In particular, the rally called for an override of the Governor's
veto on the following bills, as per a press release from DARE:

Bill 5099 and S0029 sponsored by Representative Gallison and Senator
Tassoni: This act would restrict mandatory overtime for nurse
employees of private, public and state hospitals.

Bill 207 and 5127 sponsored by Senator Metts and Representative
Almeida: This act would eliminate the mandatory minimum sentences for
drug sentences.

Bill S619 sponsored by Senator Connors: This act would provide to
domestic partners of certain state and municipal employees pension,
death and other retirement benefits, which are currently available to
spouses of such employees.

Bill 1014 and 5904 sponsored by Senator Pichardo and Representative
Almeida: This act would ensure affirmative action requirements are
met by the Governor and the General Assembly when making appointments.

Bill 648 and 6125 sponsored by Senator Levesque and Representative
Coderre: This act would implement coordinated healthcare planning at
the state level to target investments in the state's healthcare
infrastructure in order to begin to control skyrocketing costs.

Joel Garcia, a Junior at RIC and President of RIC's chapter of
Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), attended the event along
with members from the Brown University chapter of SSDP. "The issue of
mandatory minimums is important to me personally and is central to
the work RIC SSDP hopes to do," explained Joel. Also showing his
support for the veto override was RIC Alumni Anthony Francisco, Class
of 2001, now a teacher at Hope High School. Mr. Francisco related,
"youth make mistakes but these mistakes don't merit life imprisonment
without parole. A society can do better for its people than prison -
prison is death. Youth can change their ways, they deserve a chance
at rehabilitation."

According to the Providence Journal, Governor Carcieri and the state
police opposed the bill because, in addition to eliminating mandatory
minimum sentences, it would have substantially shortened the maximum
sentences for serious drug offenses.