I have a hypothetical situation for you to consider.  Let's say you decide to purchase some merchandise from a local electronics store.  You decide to buy a large television, DVD player, Tivo, surround sound, and a new video game system, and also decide to have the television delivered and all components professionally installed.  On the big day, a friendly individual comes into your home connects everything, and does a terrific job.  You would probably be satisfied, but would you be as pleased if you found out that the friendly installer served time for breaking and entering along with assault charges?  Probably not.  This is an unsettling scenario, but if Senator Charles Levesque has his way, it could be a reality.

     Senator Levesque and some others are sponsoring a bill which would ban businesses from refusing to hire individuals do to their criminal history, and would require them to provide a reason for their decision not to hire them.  Rhode Island has wiped out 625 felonies since 2007, along with 26,417 criminal cases since 2000.  Now they are making it a little harder to do business, while compromising the safety of the public.  If you're as appalled as I am, you can complain to Senator Levesque, but I doubt he would care.  Here is what he thinks of people who disagree:

Yet, when representatives of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce respectfully disagreed with the bill, saying it “goes too far,” Senator Levesque shot back with unfortunately personal remarks that brought no credit to him or his cause: “Isn’t it nice to be white, bourgeois and working for the Chamber of Commerce?” he said. “What, they feel threatened or they think their people are going to feel threatened? . . . I am unsympathetic to their concerns.”

     I think there are a lot of people who would feel threatened by having criminals in professional positions which require a certain level of trust.  Although, I can't really blame Charles Levesque.  After all, just look at some of his past and present colleagues in the General Assembly who have records or have committed criminal or unethical acts while in office.  He's used to being around those types of people every day.


http://www.projo.com/opinion/editorials/content/ED_felons3_04-03-09_FQDPR8K_v35.3e63b70.html