Will the Supreme Court recognize the right of the homeless to camp in public?

one in Demonstration in Supreme Court on Monday On the issue of whether the homeless have a “right” to camp in public, almost no one mentioned the actual victims of that crazy idea. Homeless advocates, including the American Civil Liberties Union, told the court that living on the streets is a “victimless” crime. victim?

everyone who has to Step on needles and human feces And view half-conscious humans as prey while walking to work or taking their children to school.

Every shop owner whose entrance is blocked by makeshift cardboard shelters is suffering.

Every family that wants to use the park and finds it cluttered with huge tents is a victim.

scheduled tribe. Lewis government removes ‘creepy,’ ‘smelly’ homeless camp after homeowners harassed for three years

Homeless people are more likely to commit violent crimes than people who are not homeless. The public has every reason to be cautious.

Municipalities across America are watching City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson, which challenges a 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision barring penalties for sleeping with blankets and other items on public property. The 9th Circuit – known for its left-wing rulings – says the sentences are “cruel and unusual punishment” because the homeless have no choice.

There is no alternative but another Whopper. San Francisco officials report that 60% of homeless individuals living on the street refuse when offered shelter.

Here in New York City, every homeless person is guaranteed shelter. When Mayor Eric Adams sends Department of Homeless Services outreach teams to tent camps, only 5% take up the offer of shelter. The other 95% choose to live a hard life.

Justice Clarence Thomas The closest he came to this practical truth was when he asked whether the Grants Pass ordinance criminalized the lack of a home, or the decision to knowingly sleep rough rather than go to a shelter.

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Homeless people are encamped on the streets in Oakland, California on March 15, 2024. (DWS for Fox News Digital)

One big surprise is who is favoring Grants Pass – the Democratic polls, including California Governor Gavin Newsom and a long list of big blue cities except – you guessed it – New York City.

Grant Pass lawyers point out that The 9th Circuit has “erected judicial obstruction.” This affected almost every municipality in the West, preventing them from clearing the camps. The results are “crime, fires, the re-emergence of medieval diseases, environmental damage, and record levels of drug overdoses, and deaths on public roads.”

Phoenix city officials, in a friend-of-the-court brief, have complained that 9th Circuit judges are acting like “homeless policy czars” who let local governments make decisions. Justice Brett Kavanaugh echoed this, warning against “micromanaging” homelessness policy by the federal courts.

People sleep outside on the sidewalk in Seattle on April 6, 2020. (Karen Ducey/Getty Images)

This is what is happening. Anti-camping regulations adopted in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Portland, Oregon were banned following 9th Circuit precedent. And that precedent has also been cited by courts in the rest of America as a reason to tolerate homeless camps.

Grants Pass is very unusual Big cities are struggling with homelessness It is a bit difficult to predict the outcome of the case. It is a small, church-run refuge town with a population of 40,000.

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But Monday’s arguments suggest the justices will rule 6-3 or 5-4 that municipalities can ban sleeping on public property. This decision will affect the entire country.
Except maybe New York City, which is moving away from common sense.

A homeless man sits in his tent overlooking the river in Portland, Oregon on June 5, 2021. (AP Photo/Paula Bronstein, File)

City Council adopted “Homeless Bill of Rights” In 2023, Gotham becomes the only major city with an explicit right to sleep in public places. Mayor Adams did not veto it. It makes no sense. The law was adopted unanimously. What are city lawmakers thinking?

Homeless people deserve pity, but letting them freeze to death or succumb to disease is not kindness. Data shows they are reducing their lifespan by 30 years or more.

The city’s public attorney, Jumaane Williams, sponsored a “homeless bill of rights”, saying the city should focus on the root causes of homelessness rather than “instilling fear”.

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But fear is necessary. And the public deserves clean, safe streets.

Fair warning: Williams is Adams has an eye on the job as mayor,

The court’s expected decision would allow local authorities across the US to crack down on homeless camps. But judges cannot order that they do so.

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The law-abiding public – the real victims of homelessness – need to elect local leaders who will say “no” to prioritizing the rights of the homeless over the rights of the rest of us.

Voters of New York City, it’s up to you.

Click here to read more from Betsy McCaughey