Pirate's Cove

On the bright side, even the Democrats aren’t insane enough to vote for this bill, right? There’s zero chance it even gets a vote on the House floor. It does let us know what the hardcore Democrats really want

This is a flaming heap of garbage.

Here’s the text of the bill for anyone who wants to read it. Highlights include no punishment or removal for putting a tent up or sleeping anywhere they want to, no punishment for panhandling anywhere they want, free universal healthcare and…

— Libertarian Mama ???? (@LibertarianMama) August 3, 2023

This bill is so crazy I have to wonder if it was written by the crazy homeless in San Francisco, Seattle, and Portland. Starting on page 9 of the bill (which is linked in the Libertarian Mama tweet)

• (1) the right to decent, affordable, and acces10 sible housing, livable wages, and universal health
  care; (so, free healthcare)
• (3) the rights, privileges, or access of an individual to public services, parks, sidewalks, transportation, buildings, or facilities without discrimination on the basis of their housing status; (so, they can simply go into any private building whenever the hell they want)
• (4) the right to uninhibited access to public parks, transportation, facilities, sidewalks, buildings, and restrooms without discrimination on the basis of their housing status; (so, putting up tents anywhere, using any bathroom anytime)
• (7) the right not to be subject to penalties for standing, walking, resting, or sleeping in a public place or vehicle in a non-obstructive manner, including relying on tents, sleeping bags, additional clothing, or other supplies intended to make sleep comfortable and possible; (this would negate all state and local ordinances on no tents on sidewalks, no loitering, etc. This is a 10th Amendment violation)
• (8) the right to pray, meditate, or practice religion in public spaces without being subject to criminal or civil sanctions, harassment, or arrest; (this could backfire as the abortion supporters try to stop anti-abortion forces outside abortion clinics)
• (9) the right to solicit donations in public spaces without being subject to criminal or civil sanctions, harassment, or arrest in a manner that violates the right to free speech; (negating all panhandling and other laws, will die in court)

That’s just some of it. Moving on to things on page 12 (below the fold)

(b) PROTECTIONS OF UNHOUSED INDIVIDUALS.—It is the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States must establish regulations and enforcement tools to protect unhoused individuals from the violation of their fundamental civil and human rights, including protections from—

(1) law enforcement against undue surveillance, mistreatment, harassment, destruction of personal property, vehicle impoundment, and unjustified detention, searches, ticketing, and arrests; and

(2) private businesses, property owners, including business improvement districts, and housed residents against discrimination, harassment, mistreatment, assault, detention, banishment, and destruction of private property.

In other words, cops cannot touch them, and private citizens cannot do a damned thing about homeless on their property. Homeless camping out in your backyard, pooping all over, leaving their stuff, doing drugs? Tough shit.

In fairness, this is not new, she introduced it awhile ago, but, she’s pimping it again. It has 31 cosponsors, all the typical crazies. And many of those represent cities with terrible homeless issues. There needs to be some sort of solution. There have always been homeless, and they have not always been treated well. Some definitely deserve a hand up, like homeless veterans. Some are just crazy, some are criminals, and some are serious druggies.