A Democratic state representative in Washington is advocating for a bill that would make homelessness a civil rights issue and make people living on the streets a protected class.
State Rep. Mia Gregerson is reportedly pushing legislation for the upcoming session in the Democratic-controlled State Legislature that would shield the homeless from “discrimination based on housing status.”
According to a draft of the bill, “[M]any communities within Washington are enacting and enforcing laws that disproportionately impact homelessness or make living in public a crime. These laws are potentially unconstitutional, make it harder for people to exit homelessness, do not solve the underlying problem of homelessness, and waste precious public funds.”
Gregerson is pushing the legislation following the US Supreme Court ruling in Grants Pass v. Johnson that the Eighth Amendment’s protection against cruel and unusual punishment doesn’t prevent a city from enforcing public camping ordinances.
Following the ruling, Burien, Washington, part of which is in Gregerson’s district, began enforcing a ban on camping in public places after the county had attempted to stop them from doing so. Other municipalities, including, Everett, Washington, began enacting similar policies such as its new Service Facility Buffer Zone, also known as a No Sit, No Lie Zone in its downtown near a local children’s museum. […]
— Read More: thepostmillennial.com
