Originally published at: Sotomayor Sums Up Supreme Court’s New Ruling For The Homeless: ‘Stay Awake Or Be Arrested’
In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court on Friday ruled that forbidding people without housing from sleeping with a blanket outside — even when they have nowhere else to go — does not run afoul of the 8th Amendment’s prohibition of “cruel and unusual punishment.” Justice Neil Gorsuch, writing for the majority, had to pull…
It’s just about midnight in America.
At least they can’t kill us until they kill us.
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Coming soon to every state with a republican majority a complete ban on homeless people. Which in turn means they will arrest homeless people if they disturb the rich people.
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“The law, in its majestic equality, forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal their bread.”
– Anatole France
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Astonishing to watch six people rewrite America in real time.
By the end of the next Trump presidency, Pete and Chasten Buttigieg will be lucky if they are still at liberty. No question their marriage will no longer be legal, and their children will be wards of the state.
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These Sorry excuses of humanity… I wish them nothing but ill will.
“This is not America” (Pat Metheny, Lyle Mays &David Bowie)…
the hell, it is.
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When in Oregon… be careful where you go recreating in your tent or RV because you might get arrested for being homeless and destitute which in Grants Pass is akin to murder most foul.
Seriously now… in my 20’s I was homeless and living out of my old Ford pick up for a time. It was not by choice or pleasant. I basically had the truck and that was it. And my dog. To arrest someone for being destitute is extreme cruelty. Jail is not the way to get a roof over one’s head.
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Grants Pass is in Josephine county, a place notorious for having actually defunding their sheriff’s office.
“In 2012, Josephine County voters did not approve a $12 million levy. As a result, sheriff’s deputies were laid off and jail inmates were released. In 2019, a report about law enforcement in the county stated that after the levy failed, concealed carry permits tripled in the county and drug crime rate increased to about three times the state’s rate.”
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The main reason for going to SCROTUS on this was the maximalist interpretation that a bunch of “unhoused advocates” was putting forward, which was that it was illegal to ticket anyone for urban camping when there wasn’t sufficient shelter space available for everyone that needed it in the jurisdiction, which is clearly absurd. So if shelter was offered and refused, there was no enforcement option to force people off the street. Basically the intent was to enforce until the shelters were full, but due to ambiguity, the cities sat on their hands and didn’t enforce anything.
So the advocates just ended up losing badly, with cities (if they choose) being able to ticket everyone, even if shelter is unavailable. So a massive own goal.
We’re going to see continued failure to support the mentally ill and/or drug addicts, of course, due to 'merican exceptionalism. But with added arrests.
It’s the dogs on a rope that I feel sorry for - the way to avoid being sent to a shelter and continue your life of crime and drugs on the street is to have a pet that you can’t be separated from. So expect to see more of that.
Caltrans has cleared out the 10 tents at the bottom of my street again today, FWIW.
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Don’t count the people out. Even in the worst read, Biden was only living up to the lie they already tell, so no loss there. Trump is still Trump. They know what they’re getting, and they already said no - unusual for a president to not get 2 terms.
My money is on the American people, as always. All the GOP have done is reveal themselves to be a racist viper strangling the country. Let them try and make America do anything. How are you going to have a totalitarian regime with that many guns in circulation?
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Cruel, but not unusual.
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Just to be clear: If I’m homeless in, say, Grants Pass, Oregon and I sleep in my car, if I’m lucky enough to have one, I’m behaving illegally. They might call it “breaking the law” but they are really saying I’m illegit.
So if I’m homeless — no car, no pool, no pets … no cigarettes* — if I go to sleep I can be fined or jailed or both. Never mind that if I had money I wouldn’t be homeless and if you jail me I’ll have somewhere to sleep … and get fed.
By the grace of doG
go I and so many others. Good times!
Fun Fact: The fastest growing homeless demographic is seniors whose meager benefits outstrip the rising cost of living.
*h/t Roger Miller
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Time to invest in the private prison industry. Oh, and work houses./s
Nice reference, @Muse. Thanks.
This Is Not America
[Intro]
This is not America (Sha la la la la)
[Verse 1]
Little piece of you
The little peace in me
Will die (This is not a miracle)
For this is not America
[Verse 2]
Blossom fails to bloom this season
Promise not to stare
Too long (This is not America)
For this is not the miracle
[Pre-Chorus]
There was a time
A storm that blew so pure
For this could be the biggest sky
And I could have the faintest idea
[Chorus]
For this is not America
(Sha la la la la, sha la la la la, sha la la la la)
This is not America, no
This is not (Sha la la la la)
[Verse 3]
Snowman melting from the inside
Falcon spirals to the ground
(This could be the biggest sky)
So bloody red, tomorrow’s clouds
[Verse 1]
A little piece of you
The little piece in me
Will die (This could be a miracle)
For this is not America
[Pre-Chorus]
There was a time
A wind that blew so young
For this could be the biggest sky
And I could have the faintest idea
[Chorus]
For this is not America
(Sha la la la la, sha la la la la, sha la la la la)
This is not America, no
This is not (Sha la la la)
[Outro]
This is not America, no
This is not
This is not America, no
This is not (Sha la la la)
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In Grants Pass,
Anyone caught sleeping on the sidewalks, streets or city parks would face a fine of $295, and those fines could go up to $1,200 and 30 days in jail for repeat offenses
Seems funny to me that a response to abject poverty is to fine the impoverished.
And if helping the homeless get back on their feet were an actual goal here, then providing the client with a criminal background and taking their last dollar and/or fining them into debt is somewhat counterproductive. But who am I to say …
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Screw these out of touch elitist justices. For most of human history people slept outdoors! No doubt Repub and Dino Dems will spend millions to jail homeless rather than installing more port-o-potties and just letting them sleep in sleeping bags. An unelected, lifetime appointed SCOTUS is the worst idea of the framers (after electoral college and 2 senators per state).
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On the plus side, Bannon is toast.
“The application for release pending appeal presented to the Chief Justice and by him referred to the court is denied.”
NBC News reported that Bannon has already been assigned an inmate number by the federal Bureau of Prisons: 05635-509.
I still say Bannon does a runner before his Monday deadline.
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in the context of ongoing fascist spectacle, punching down onto the most disadvantaged victims they can find becomes a pastime for a certain contingent in this country. the point is to be cruel and ‘othering’ all the way, without mercy.
It’s definitely not. this ruling has been more upsetting to me than anything I’ve seen in awhile. When I think about this in combination with a burgeoning private prison industry, I feel literally sick to my stomach. not to mention, captive prison labor markets. fuck.
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Ok, but looking on the upside, if we are going to setup universal arrests for those looking potentially unsavory or having some assumed character defect or flawed state of being, the conservative majority should soon qualify based on their record.
They will have to throw themselves at the mercy of SCOTUS and they will not recuse because it is only a gratuity they took, so it should all be fine. Which should get them arrested once again.
Sigh…
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“Man of means by-no-means…”