Homeless, civil liberty defenders decry anti-highway blocking bill

Supporters of civil liberties and marginalized people are criticizing Coventry Sen. Lou Raptakis’ bill that would make it a felony, punishable by at least a year in jail, to block a highway.

Raptakis, a conservative who owns a pizza place in Coventry, submitted the controversial bill yesterday. It is a direct response, he has said, to the highway protests, in Providence and across the country, led by Black Lives Matter activists, who organized to counter racial injustice and police violence against Black people in America.

The bill says: “A person commits the crime of unlawful interference with traffic if he or she intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly: (1) Stands, sits, kneels, or otherwise loiters on any federal or state highway under such circumstances that said conduct could reasonably be construed as interfering with the lawful movement of traffic.” It was co-signed by Senators Frank Lombardo, of Johnston, Frank Lombardi, of Crnaston, Michael McCaffrey, of Warwick, and Paul Jabour, of Providence.

Raptakis’ bill has drawn a sharp rebuke from civil libertarians, homelessness advocates as well as groups promoting an end to racism.

The Rhode Island Homeless Advocacy Project and the RI ACLU released a joint statement yesterday.

“Legislation introduced by Senator Raptakis today, ostensibly to deal with protesters creating a public safety hazard by blocking roadways, is both short-sighted and unnecessary. The bill, S-129, would make it a felony to cause the ‘interruption, obstruction, distraction, or delay of any motorist,’ punishable by between one and three years in prison for a first offense. On its face, this legislation is unnecessary because there are already statutes under which individuals can be charged for this conduct, as happened to several protesters involved in the I-95 demonstration in November.

Apparently feeling that the punishment isn’t severe enough, the Senator would like to give these mostly young people a felony record, potentially impacting severely their future employment, housing and other opportunities for the rest of their lives. The introduction of the bill this week is particularly ironic, considering that we just celebrated the life of Martin Luther King, Jr., whose historic Selma-to-Montgomery march had to have been one of the country’s greatest “obstruction, distraction or delay” of motorists ever. Do we really want to reserve a prison cell for three years to hold his successor?

“The bill also has the potential to curtail the civil liberties not only of lawful protesters but also of individuals experiencing homelessness and living in poverty. The legislation’s broadly-worded and ambiguous language leaves open the possibility that individuals panhandling on sidewalks or medians – a means of survival and a legal exercise of one’s First Amendment rights – could be accused of distracting motorists and jailed under the proposed law.

“Such use of this legislation has negative consequences both for the individual charged and for our state more broadly. To charge an individual attempting to meet his or her basic needs in a legal manner with a felony is both cruel and illogical. Both the court proceedings and the subsequent incarceration of the individual are extremely costly to the state. Furthermore, because of a felony conviction’s impact on employment and housing, the charge could also lengthen bouts of homelessness, which are expensive to taxpayers.

“If Senator Raptakis’ intention is to ensure public safety, this end could better be achieved by fostering constructive dialogue between the police and marginalized communities – whether communities of color protesting unequal treatment or the homeless community securing basic needs – about collaborative solutions to the injustices they face daily. Filling the prisons even more is not the answer.”

Similarly, DARE activists submitted this op/ed.