Campaign against Rhode Island constitutional convention launched

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — The Rhode Island Citizens for Responsible Government held a press conference Wednesday launching a campaign against holding a Constitutional Convention.

The organization said that a convention, which is Question 1 on November’s general election ballot, would open the state’s constitution to “big-money influence,  threats to civil rights, and wasted taxpayer dollars.”

“A Constitutional Convention poses a direct threat to established civil rights, with the potential to introduce amendments that could undermine protections currently afforded under Rhode Island state law,” Chair Vimala Phongsavanh said. “The influence of out-of-state special interests, empowered to spend without limits, further jeopardizes the integrity of our democratic process, potentially swaying outcomes away from the will of the people and towards narrow ideological agendas.”

Phongsavanh, who is also the Senior Director of External Affairs of Planned Parenthood of Southern New England, added that the convention could put women’s reproductive rights as well as worker’s rights in “danger.”

The convention question is on ballots every 10 years, with the last one being held in 1986.

Organizers said the coalition includes members from Planned Parenthood of Southern New England, ACLU of Rhode Island, R.I. AFL-CIO, and R.I. National Organization of Women, among others.

The Rhode Island General Assembly finalized a preparatory commission for the question at the beginning of July.

More information on the campaign against the convention can be found here.