September 2003
A feud erupted between Civil Rights activists and Governor Romney over his under-the-radar-screen dismantling of the state's affirmative action program. "This is a sad day in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts," said Leonard Alkins, president of the Boston branch of the NAACP. "Romney wants to wipe the slate of affirmative action clean, a slate that was written by several hundred years of struggle," added Meizhi Lui of United for a Fair Economy. In response to the outrage, Romney claimed that 37 percent of the people he's hired have "minority backgrounds." Later, it was clarified that at least 7 percent of that total did not reveal their ethnic origin.

June 2003
Governor Romney said he will veto any attempt to water down the state's new English immersion law that requires students "to learn English through a sheltered English immersion program for a period of time not normally intended to exceed one school year." Educators in several cities argued that the federal civil rights laws superseded the new Massachusetts English immersion requirement. "Children aren't going to learn the language any faster," according to Margaret Adams who supervises the Brockton public schools' bilingual program for grades K - 8. "Even the [state Department of Education] had to look at Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and realize that you can't force students out after a year."

The site coordinator of Brockton's bilingual department worried about students who may not be ready to leave English immersion programs after a year and subsequently will be placed in special education classes. "The state is going to have to spend a lot more because special education is more costly," Helder Varela said.

April 2003, Boston Globe
Under Governor Romney's plan to raise state revenue, an employee who alleges discrimination in the workplace will have to pay $125 to submit a complaint to the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination. There has never been a fee for filing a complaint with the agency which enforces state laws against discrimination in employment. In addition, there would be a charge for mediation, a fee that would be shared by employers and the employee filing the claim. "The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission does not charge fees. No other state or locality charges fees. The notion that you should have to pay a fee to vindicate your civil rights is a real step backward - almost like a poll tax," said Ellen Messing, a lawyer who is on the board of the National Employment Lawyers Association.

June 2003, Boston Globe
Governor Romney asked legislators to put the rights of innocent victims above the civil rights of sex offenders. Romney had hoped to begin posting the names of the most dangerous sex offenders on the Internet as of May 15. But public defenders sued, arguing that there was nothing in state law that allowed that sort of dissemination of information about sex offenders. A Superior Court judge agreed and issued a permanent injunction against Romney's plan. Rather than appeal the court decision, Romney simply attempted to change the law. Under his proposal, the public would be able to access the photo, name, home and work address of Level 3 sexual offenders who live or work in their community. Currently, citizens must go to the local police station to request the information.

May 2003
Governor Romney gave the green light to legislation which would allow police officers to stop motorists for not wearing a seat belt. The "primary enforcement" bill would give police the authority to stop a motorist merely for not wearing a seat belt. Minority lawmakers are opposed to the legislation, arguing that the law would allow racial profiling to flourish because officers could pull over anyone at any time. The Governor disputed those concerns