February 5, 2015 – RI Future

Sen. Lou Raptakis’ and Rep. Ray Hull’s bills targeting Black Lives Matter highway protests addresses the tactic of calling attention to invisible racism and institutional injustice. But Rhode Island still has significant work to do on the root causes of invisible racism and institutional injustice.

A recent report ranked Rhode Island as the third worst in the nation for Black people. There are very wide racial gaps in income, employment and education. And it was only 14 years ago that a Black Providence cop was shot and killed by a White Providence cop.

So I asked Sen. Lou Raptakis and Rep. Ray Hull, the sponsors of the bills that would make highway protests a felony, what they think of the Black Lives Matter movement, and other pointed questions about racism in Rhode Island and historical context.

Even the House sponsor of Sen. Lou Raptakis’ bill that would make Black Lives Matter highway protests a felony punishable by at least a year in jail distanced himself from the overly harsh penalty during and after a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday.

“Is it a felony? I will tell you, no,” said Rep. Ray Hull, a Black police officer from Providence, sponsor of the bill that would make highway protests a felony. “Absolutely not.” Hull told me this after enduring pointed questioning in the public hearing from Rep. Joe Almeida, also a Black man from Providence.

“I don’t know what the percentage rate is, but a good portion of the people of color are going to be walking across that highway,” Almeida said to Hull. “And I can help them with a misdemeanor. My hands are tied with a felony.”

Hull seemed to tell Almeida he would rescind the bill. Steve Ahlquist has video of the exchange:

Hull and Raptakis sponsored versions of the bill that would make the highway protests a felony. Rep. Dennis Canario sponsored a similar bill that would make the protests a misdemeanor. You can read about their differences here.

Nearly every speaker systematically denounced the bills. Even the lone law enforcement lobbyist in support copped to it being overly broad. Most speakers said a felony is far too harsh a penalty for such an offense. Many said creating a new class of crime to target a nonviolent protest that is already illegal is unnecessary and/or unjust.

Former Republican congressional candidate Stan Tran likened the legislation to something Iran or China would do – and couched his comment by reminding the committee that his parents had emigrated from Vietnam. Steve Brown, executive director of the ACLU, said the felony version would implement a stiffer penalty than drunk driving – which, obviously, can also effectuate a traffic jam.

Fred Ordonez, executive director of DARE, dismissed the idea that the potential for emergency vehicle delay warrants a stiff penalty pointing out that ambulances are delayed by traffic issues all the time caused by celebrations, sporting events and unforeseen accidents. He wondered if it was the nature of the message rather than the nature of the protest that inspired legislators to take action.

We’ll have more video from this hearing later today.

Day: February 5, 2015

Sen Raptakis, Rep Hull talk Black Lives Matter, felonies, historical context

House sponsor Hull says Raptakis bill is too harsh