A Bill of Rights for the Homeless

A Bill Of Rights for the Homeless (The Nation)

          This is just one example of serving those in greater need than us that I outlined in my last book excerpt post.

          If a homeless person in Gainesville, Florida, is caught receiving money from a motorist, both parties can be fined up to $500.  In Atlanta, Georgia, it’s illegal to ask for money within fifteen feet of a building entrance.  Cities across the country prohibit sitting or lying on sidewalks as well as camping in public spaces, and loitering and jaywalking laws are often more aggressively enforced against the homeless.  Advocates say it amounts to an intimidation strategy, designed to purge the homeless from neighborhoods being groomed for gentrification.

          In response, California Assemblyman Tom Ammiano recently introduced the Homeless Person’s Bill of Rights and Fairness Act, which would enshrine the right to “life-sustaining” activities such as resting in public spaces as well as panhandling, provided it’s not done aggressively.  The bill articulates the right to housing, clean water and bathrooms and would allow people to sleep in legally parked cars; it would also guarantee the homeless legal counsel.  The point, Ammiano explains, is “to recognize the rights of a population in very difficult circumstances without trampling the rights of everyone else.”