|
|
« Local religious leaders affirm support for gay marriage | Today | Update: Six injured in Taunton warehouse collapse » December 4, 2007Update: Carcieri's office says ACLU criticism is nothing newA spokesman for Governor Carcieri called the Rhode Island affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union's assessment of the governor's actions on civil rights over the past year "a PR stunt." "By compiling all their previous press releases attacking Governor Carcieri into a so-called ‘report,’ Steve Brown and the ACLU have managed to resurrect a number of issues that have already been the subject of significant media coverage," said Jeff Neal, Carcieri's spokesman. The report examines some of Carcieri’s statements and actions concerning five groups of Rhode Islanders: immigrants, women, blacks and Latinos, gays and lesbians, and juveniles. Drawing on criticisms the group has levied in the past, the ACLU reports seeing in the Governor an “almost-reflexive action in pitting himself against the legitimate interests of the civil rights community and minority groups on each occasion.” "It is not news that the ACLU and Governor Carcieri have deep philosophical differences," Neal said, saying the group's reports and press releases "must be viewed in light of their clear pro-government, pro-welfare, anti-family agenda." The main issues addressed are: -- Immigrants and the Governor's recent statements about interpreters.g Read the full ACLU report here.
Neal said the governor has not changed interpreter policy for non-English speakers seeking welfare benefits. The governor continues to plan to ensure non-English speakers get access to interpretation services they are entitled to under federal law, Neal said. "We will continue to use state employees to translate for more commonly used languages like Spanish, and we will continue as we have for many years to use outside translation services to provide interpretation for less commonly encountered languages like Cambodian and Hmong," said Neal. On the no-fault divorce issue, Neal said the ACLU referenced a brief filed in a same-sex marriage case that is before the state Supreme Court. The brief noted that many believe no-fault divorce increases divorce rates and "undermines the stability of marriage," Neal said, adding that it was "not a central point" of the brief. "I would say Governor Carcieri does believe that government should be doing all it can to promote healthy marriage and healthy families," Neal said. On the matter of juveniles and sending 17-year-olds to jail, Neal said the governor proposed that policy change for the fiscal year and that it was approved by the Democratic-controlled General Assembly in June after a series of hearings. "It is unfortunate but not surprising" that the ACLU would "attack Republican Governor Carcieri but ignore" the Democratic-majority legislature's role in enacting the law. Neal referred to Carcieri's veto statements for mandatory minimum sentencing and partner benefits to address the last two points on the ACLU list. Posted by Mike McKinney Commentschalkdust | December 4, 2007 6:03 PM link Post a commentPlease be civil. Vicious comments, personal attacks and profanity won't be published. Name and email are required; email address will not publish. |
|
ADVERTISING |
|
|
|
|
| Su | Mo | Tu | We | Th | Fr | Sa |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
ProJo 9 to 5 News Blog
Oct 2005 - March 2006
The Governor has "deep philosophical differences" with the ACLU? That would require a philosophy, which requires thought, which the Governor has not demonstrated in this realm. This is the guy that promoted a law making it a crime to display "any flag or emblem other than the flag of the Unites States" as symbolic of, or preferable to, the United States government. Such laws have been obviously unconstitutional for 50 years.
Carcieri doesn't have "philosophical differences" with the ACLU, he has a fundamental ignorance of, and disrespect for, civil liberties. He also doesn't have the sense to hire a legal staff who didn't sleep through Con Law I.