RAW STORY : HOMELESS BILL OF RIGHTS link - one of many stories hitting the Internet this morning. See below for our commentary on Bill Handel, KFI Radio's, commentary this morning.
BILL HANDEL FKI AM 640 RADIO LINK
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The bill, introduced by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano of San Francisco, would allow homeless people in California to legally sit, sleep and ask for donations in public without the threat of being arrested or cited. The bill would also allow homeless to reside in parks 24/7, regardless of their operating hours.
Ammiano explained the bill’s primary goal was to stop the criminalization of homelessness. Bill supporter and Coalition on Homelessness organizer Lisa Marie Alatorre told the SF Examiner:
“This bill calls for the immediate end of criminalizing homelessness. We need to stop allowing that to be our response to economic problems.”
The proposal lays out a “bill of rights” for people who are homeless including the right to:
“… move freely, rest, solicit donations, pray, meditate, or practice religion, and to eat, share, accept, or give food and water in public spaces without being subject to criminal or civil sanctions, harassment or arrest.”
If passed, the state would also be required to set up “health and hygiene centers” to provide showers and restrooms for the homeless 24 hours a day. Additionally, legal assistance must be available for anyone issued a citation for an activity related to their housing status.
While the state would foot the bill for these costs, the final price tag is still not known. Ammiano told the committee:
“Citations, arrests and jail time do not solve homelessness. They just route crucial public dollars that could be spent on housing to an already impacted court and corrections system.”
The new proposal would override San Francisco’s sit-lie ordinance passed in 2010 by voters. Sit-lie ordinances, though, would remain enforceable in cities that meet certain criteria, including having available public housing and have not been identified as “an area of concentrated unemployment.”
But sit-lie ordinances would be enforceable if strict criteria are met: the county provides adequate welfare assistance, the city isn’t identified by the U.S. Department of Labor as an area of concentrated unemployment, and the county’s public housing waiting list contains fewer than 50 people.
Assemblyman Donald Wagner, who voted against the bill Tuesday, told the committee:
“The homeless situation in San Francisco is going to be very much different from the homeless situation in Fresno, Los Angeles or central Orange County. By Sacramento passing this law, it doesn’t allow those cities to fix their own problems.”
While many local governments and business groups are in opposition of the bill, they’re probably thankful the current amended version of the bill no longer includes the controversial provision that would have legalized public urination by the homeless.
The legislation, passed by the Assembly Judiciary Committee with a 7-2 vote, will now head to the Assembly Committee on Appropriations...
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We heard the news as part of Bill Handel's Commentary on KFI this morning. He mentioned that people say to him that he hates the homeless. Well, we did get the impression, but we think Bill is mostly IGNORANT like a lot of people who rarely come in contact with homeless. As a lawyer Bill has legal knowledge that a lot of people don't have. He mentioned that this comes down to being a revenue issue. He mentioned that while SIDEWALKS are public property, what does a business owner do when some homeless guy is peeing on the sidewalk in front of your business. He also mentioned that Amiano sees this as a HUMANITARIAN ISSUE and so there will be LOCAL HYGIENE STATIONS open 24 hours a day so that homeless can have a place to wash, pee, whatever.
Needless to say we are all for THE HOMELESS BILL OF RIGHTS and feel grateful that Tom Ammiano had the guts to bring up the issue. He is representing ALL THE PEOPLE including HOMELESS PEOPLE, who are usually THE POOREST OF THE POOR. He's right that people who were never criminals are considered criminals just because they have nowhere else to go. Homeless people are transient because they are moved along by police wherever they go. Being harrassed from one community to the next, trying to stay out of trouble means walking till you can't walk anymore, going hungry or panhandling for money to feed yourself, and being under constant stress. Then some people yell at you to go get a job.
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