Civil Rights

This legislation would strengthen protections against discrimination for individuals with disabilities, including in federally funded programs. The bill ensures state-level protections remain in place regardless of changes to federal law.

This legislation would have required that a minor have a parent or guadian present during questioning by law enforcement. Although the bill did not pass, similar legislation has been reintroduced in subsequent sessions with support from the ACLU of Rhode Island. 

This legislation would have prevented using a parents disability as a basis for denial or restriction in matters involving a child's welfare, foster care, family law, guardianship, & adoption. The proposed law did not pass during the 2020 session, but was strengthened and later passed in 2021 with the support of the ACLU.

Sen. McKenney supported passage of legislation that updated state law regarding parentage, replacing it with a uniform act providing non-biologigical parents in same-sex marriages, and parents who have conceived through surrogacy or assisted reproduction a clear, secure path to establishing legal parentage regardless of the circumstances of their birth.