In April, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a major case that could reshape how cities manage homelessness. The legal issue is whether they can fine or arrest people for sleeping outside if there’s no shelter available. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has deemed this cruel and unusual punishment, and this case is a pivotal challenge to that ruling.
The high court declined to take up a similar case in 2019. But since then, homelessness rates have climbed relentlessly. Street encampments have grown larger and have expanded to new places, igniting intense backlash from residents and businesses. Homelessness and the lack of affordable housing that’s helping to drive it have become key issues for many voters.
The case, Grants Pass v. Johnson, could have dramatic implications for the record number of people living in tents and cars across the United States.
Oh good. With this SCOTUS, I assume they’ll declare it open hunting season on homeless people.
I fucking hate it. I mean read this shit-
The legal issue is whether they can fine or arrest people for sleeping outside if there’s no shelter available.
FINE people who can’t even afford a home when they have NO CHOICE but to sleep outside. And this even reaches SCOTUS? It wasn’t immediately laughed out of court? Not in America.
I live some distance out of town near a highway. I have to drive over a small bridge to get into town. The bridge is still not in town, there’s farm fields next to it. But there’s a sign next to the bridge, in English and Spanish, that says ‘no trespassing.’ To be clear, this isn’t some person putting it on their land, this is an official county government sign. And yes, before the sign went up, people were sleeping under there.
These people have nowhere to go. You can’t even argue that they’re wanted as bodies for the industrial prison system, because they usually aren’t arrested, just chased off. And apparently given fines they can’t afford now.
I honestly have no idea what cities and counties expect these people to do.
I honestly have no idea what cities and counties expect these people to do.
Die.
They expect us to die.
I spent half of my 20s homeless in Canada and was outright told by a cop that he would have preferred to come deal with my dead body. “Why don’t you kill yourself? Make my life a lot easier so I wouldn’t have to come and tell your lazy ass to move and get a fucking job. Get out of here. If I see you back here again then my boots won’t and might walk into you.”
Most cops were spiteful and vindictive but wouldn’t outright say anything like he did. Most of the time I would ask for help. Like where should I go? Always afraid. Always nervous. I didn’t want to be homeless. I was terrified. I wanted to be okay again. But everytime I asked for help they would shrug and say “That’s not my job.” Meanwhile the people whose job it would be? They’re not funded.
They just want us to die.
I can absolutely believe that, but driving people out of wherever they settle isn’t going to achieve that either. It seems like they think as long as they treat homeless people like shit, the problem will solve itself, despite that having been shown to be demonstrably untrue for, oh, I don’t know… centuries?
They just don’t care. As far as they’re concerned the problem cannot be solved. If it’s existed for centuries then it’s because it doesn’t have an answer, right? They’re looking for the cheapest solution at this point because they “know” they’ll have to do it forever anyway so find the most cost effective solution.
There are two.
The first is to get them out of your city. Typically this is just done with a bus ticket. Relatively cheap but a lot get sent back or there ends up being problems with the other towns.
The second is to kill them. There’s no one to pay out the money to most of the time and the cost of a paupers grave is considerably cheaper than housing or prison.
It’s just purely financial. To people making these decisions, our lives are not worth the financial cost of sustaining them. It’s considered a drain on resources. It’s a complete depersonalization which is accepted by most of society because most of society depersonalize homeless people themselves either out of fear of unwarranted and random attack (which is rare as FUCK) or because it’s a reminder that their own lives could go very badly. Then there’s the propaganda people buy into and say that they either put themselves in this position with drugs or are dangerous.
To the vast majority of society we are not even considered human beings. To businesses and the government we aren’t considered human beings. We’re just a statistic.
The whole thing just makes me sick. And these people also claim to love Jesus, of course. It’s amazed there are any Christians left after observing century after century of hypocrisy.
Yes, charging them money for the crime of not having enough money should solve the issue! Then we can pay to house them in prison instead of paying to house them in housing where they might have gotten a job.
None of this is an accident. This is literally war against poor people.
More prisoners = more slave labor.
I’m no expert, but making it illegal doesn’t seem like a solution to homelessness.
Except of course they aren’t looking for a solution. That’d explain a lot.
I am curious how they will rule. On one hand the Catholics are going to be told to not go after the homeless on the other hand Alito and Clarence are going to get a donation from the Chamber of Commerce.
OH MY FUCKING GOD HOUSE THEM
Serious question, where?
If they’re willing to put them in jail then the state is already willing to pay for their housing and healthcare.
I bet it’s cheaper to build housing than keeping the same person in prison for a non-crime such as living rough.
Oh wait there are some studies already
It’s even cheaper to house them than to have them remain unhoused.
in a house
Hunting them down for sport wins 6 votes against 3
Bell Riots, here we come.
It’s not a war against homelessness. It’s a war against the homeless.
How far? Like housing them and treating their physical and mental health issues? Legalizing drugs so that we don’t criminalize addiction? Can you really go to far too help people in need?
