PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - A Rhode Island lawmaker proposed letting legislators and other officials tint their windshields to shield them from unhappy constituents.
Rep. Anastasia Williams, a Providence Democrat, introduced a bill Thursday that would carve out an exception for the state’s lawmakers and officials to travel around behind tinted glass, The Boston Globe reported.
The bill would allow members of the General Assembly, state and municipal police officers, firefighters and state judges to be exempt from state law that says most car windows must allow 70% of the light in.
“We have a lot of disgruntled individuals,” Williams said. “In the court system, law enforcement, and the General Assembly, we tend to get a bum rap, and we can face retaliation when we least expect it. When folks are on personal time, we are targeted.”
The Democrat said she has not been accosted in her vehicle but she has had some run-ins with “pro-lifers,” who confronted her inside and outside the State House about an abortion bill last year.
Williams described her proposal this week as “a safety law.” But critics said it is another example of officials getting special treatment while others have to follow the law.
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