{"id":2292560,"date":"2024-07-11T11:10:02","date_gmt":"2024-07-11T15:10:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democratic-led-cities-split-on-handling-homeless-crisis-after-supreme-court-ruling-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-07-11T11:14:39","modified_gmt":"2024-07-11T15:14:39","slug":"democratic-led-cities-split-on-handling-homeless-crisis-after-supreme-court-ruling-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democratic-led-cities-split-on-handling-homeless-crisis-after-supreme-court-ruling-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Democratic-led cities split on handling homeless crisis after Supreme Court ruling &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdemocratic-led-cities-split-on-handling-homeless-crisis-after-supreme-court-ruling-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2292560&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses how Democratic-led cities are\u200c divided on how to address a recent \u200dSupreme Court ruling that allows authorities to remove homeless people&#8217;s tents on public grounds. Some \u200dcity leaders support \u200dthe ruling while others \u2063vow to ignore it. The ruling \u200cis affecting cities like Cleveland and Seattle differently, \u200bwith\u2063 some opting to prioritize shelter and housing initiatives, while others focus on \u2062clearing encampments. The article also \u200dmentions how\u200b the\u2064 ruling is impacting similar disputes in other cities and states, such as San Francisco and Los Angeles. there\u200d is a concern\u200d among leaders \u2063about criminalizing homelessness and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/chronic-absenteeism-skyrockets-in-minnesota-public-schools\/\" title=\"Minnesota public schools experience a significant increase in chronic absenteeism.\">finding effective solutions<\/a> to address the issue.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><br \/>\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\"><br \/>\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><html><body><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><a class=\"tdb-logo-a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" title=\"Washington Examiner\"><span class=\"tdb-logo-img-wrap\"><\/span><span class=\"tdb-logo-text-wrap\"><span class=\"tdb-logo-text-title\">Washington Examiner<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\">\n<div class=\"tdb-search-form-inner\"><input class=\"tdb-head-search-form-input\" placeholder=\" \" type=\"text\" value name=\"s\" autocomplete=\"off\"><button class=\"wpb_button wpb_btn-inverse btn tdb-head-search-form-btn\" title=\"Search\" type=\"submit\"><span>Search<\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><a class=\"tdb-logo-a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" title=\"Washington Examiner\"><span class=\"tdb-logo-img-wrap\"><\/span><span class=\"tdb-logo-text-wrap\"><span class=\"tdb-logo-text-title\">Washington Examiner<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Democratic-led cities split on handling homeless crisis after Supreme Court ruling<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-author-name-wrap\"><span class=\"tdb-author-by\">By<\/span> <a class=\"tdb-author-name\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/author\/kaelan-deese\/\">Kaelan Deese<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><time class=\"entry-date updated td-module-date\" datetime=\"2024-07-11T10:58:26-04:00\">July 11, 2024 10:58 am<\/time><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1690710\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Democratic-led cities are divided on addressing a <a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/supreme-court\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Supreme Court<\/a> ruling that allows authorities to remove <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/homelessness\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>homeless people\u2019s<\/a> tents on public grounds, with some leaders championing the decision as others vow to ignore it.<\/p>\n<p>In the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3054647\/supreme-court-power-homeless-camps\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>6-3 opinion<\/a> known as <em>Grants Pass<\/em> <em>v. Johnson<\/em>, the high court lifted restrictions preventing municipalities from taking action to tear down encampments. It ruled that the small <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/oregon\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Oregon<\/a> town of Grants Pass\u2019s efforts to remove unauthorized tents did not infringe on 8th Amendment rights against cruel and unusual punishment.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Contents of a tent are seen in bags as workers dismantle the tent after Portland police detained the person residing there on Friday, June 28, 2024, in Portland, Oregon. The Supreme Court cleared the way for cities to enforce bans on homeless people sleeping outside in public places, overturning a ruling from a California-based appeals court that found such laws amount to cruel and unusual punishment when shelter space is lacking. (AP Photo\/Jenny Kane)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>But despite the high court removing the legal obstacles that kept cities from enacting stricter laws against tents on sidewalks and public parks, officials across the nation are divided on how they will implement the new precedent.<\/p>\n<p>For example, Cleveland\u2019s Democratic mayor recently declared that the <em>Grants Pass <\/em>decision will not change much at all about how the city handles its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wkyc.com\/article\/news\/local\/cleveland\/concerns-new-homeless-encampments-emerge-downtown-cleveland\/95-2094d284-5928-4580-9acd-699bb948d3da#:~:text=The%20County%20reported%20that%20at,than%20830%20people%20per%20year.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>roughly<\/a> 1,400 homeless people, according to 2022 estimates.<\/p>\n<p>The \u201cSupreme Court ruling will exist by name only in Cleveland,\u201d Mayor Justin Bibb <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/local\/cleveland\/2024\/07\/02\/supreme-court-homelessness-decision-cleveland-approach\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>told<\/a> <em>Axios <\/em>earlier this month. Bibb has opted to follow a similar approach to the one touted by homeless advocates, and the city announced in June that it will aim to bolster existing initiatives to provide housing for up to 150 people by the end of the year.<\/p>\n<p>Conversely, officials in Washington\u2019s King County, where Seattle is located, are more open to embracing the high court\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n<p>Seattle City Attorney Ann Davidson supported Grants Pass\u2019s efforts to apply its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/usps-suspends-mail-to-santa-monica-block-after-alleged-assaults-on-carriers\/\" title=\"USPS Suspends Mail to Santa Monica Block After Alleged Assaults on Carriers\">anti-camping ordinances<\/a>, and Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/local\/seattle\/2024\/06\/28\/scotus-ruling-impact-homelessness-camping-washington\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>stated last month<\/a> that the city\u2019s main objective is to continue providing shelter for homeless people while also prioritizing the clearance of encampments and \u201ckeeping public spaces clean and accessible for everyone.\u201d As of 2024, the northwestern city is home to more than 16,000 homeless people within the area, an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.seattletimes.com\/seattle-news\/homeless\/king-county-reports-largest-number-of-homeless-people-ever\/#:~:text=More%20than%2016%2C000%20people%20were,required%20by%20the%20federal%20government.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>all-time high<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps one of the most immediate impacts of the high court ruling is the way it is quickly affecting lawsuits surrounding similar encampment disputes. On Monday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit <a href=\"https:\/\/content.sfstandard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/document-4.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>overturned<\/a> an injunction that has blocked San Francisco from enforcing laws that forbid sitting, lodging, or sleeping on public property, citing the <em>Grants Pass <\/em>ruling.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, the question of how the ruling will affect California\u2019s widespread homeless crisis \u2014 the state reported <a href=\"https:\/\/shou.senate.ca.gov\/sites\/shou.senate.ca.gov\/files\/Homelessness%20in%20CA%202023%20Numbers%20-%201.2024.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>more than 123,000 people<\/a> who are homeless in 2023 \u2014 will vary depending on the mayors in charge of various cities.<\/p>\n<p>San Francisco Mayor London Breed has suggested authorities will begin citing or arresting homeless individuals if they refuse to go to a shelter, and officials told the <em>San Francisco Standard <\/em>that city workers will likely have more leeway to clear encampments.<\/p>\n<p>For Los Angeles, the matter is more complex due to a law on the books known as 41.18, which makes the city\u2019s anti-camping enforcement vary from neighborhood to neighborhood. Mayor Karen Bass recently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/california\/story\/2024-07-07\/will-the-grants-pass-ruling-on-homelessness-let-smaller-cities-shoo-people-to-la\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>told<\/a> the <em>Los Angeles Times<\/em> that neighboring localities have more discretion to close down encampments. Bass noted that she would \u201cbe very concerned that the numbers of people moved into L.A. from other cities will increase.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mark Miller, an attorney with Pacific Legal Foundation who supported Grants Pass\u2019s efforts to enforce its laws against public camping, said the Supreme Court majority decision \u201cgets it right.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cProtecting the most vulnerable among us, including the homeless, is properly the responsibility of our public policy makers, elected and appointed officials, charities, churches, civic associations, and each of us as individuals according to our conscience,\u201d Miller said in a statement to the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, advocates who oppose measures to remove homeless encampments, such as the nonprofit organization Community Solutions, called the <em>Grants Pass <\/em>ruling \u201cdeeply disappointing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve seen that communities can reduce homelessness when they set a clear goal and hold themselves accountable for meeting it,\u201d Community Solutions President Rosanne Haggerty told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>Haggerty said better efforts to collect precise data, such as the names of homeless residents, would help \u201cidentify their needs and provide the right services,\u201d noting that \u201ccities like Houston, Cincinnati, and Denver have successfully reduced homelessness using these methods.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Justice Neil Gorsuch, the author of the majority opinion, emphasized that the status of homelessness was not the core issue of the case. Rather, it was whether anyone has a right to defy local ordinances against public camping, not just homeless individuals.<\/p>\n<p>It \u201cmakes no difference whether the charged defendant is currently a person experiencing homelessness, a backpacker on vacation, or a student who abandons his dorm room to camp out in protest on the lawn of a municipal building,\u201d Gorsuch wrote.<\/p>\n<p>Grants Pass\u2019s position gained surprising support from a major Democratic leader, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.ca.gov\/2024\/06\/28\/governor-newsom-statement-on-supreme-courts-homeless-encampments-decision\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>said<\/a> on the day of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/uk-court-rules-julian-assange-can-be-extradited-to-u-s-on-spying-charges\/\" title=\"UK Court Rules Julian Assange Can Be Extradited to U.S. on Spying Charges\">high court decision<\/a> that local officials have now been given definitive authors to \u201cclear unsafe encampments from our streets.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Despite the differing reactions to the ruling from Democratic mayors and other local leaders thus far, the one thread of commonality among their responses is a concern for minimizing criminality for homelessness, a point highlighted by the Democratic-appointed justices\u2019 dissenting opinion in <em>Grants Pass<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is possible to acknowledge and balance the issues facing local governments, the humanity and dignity of homeless people, and our constitutional principles,\u201d Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in her dissent, which was joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Echoing Sotomayor\u2019s sentiment, Bass recently claimed that punitive responses against violators of anti-camping ordinances would be the lowest consideration on her list of priorities, <a href=\"https:\/\/mitchell.lacounty.gov\/2024-homeless-point-in-time-count\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>pointing<\/a> to a 5.1% decline in makeshift encampments in Los Angeles County this year alone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGiving people tickets and punishing them \u2014 how are they supposed to pay for their ticket?\u201d Bass said. \u201cAnd what happens when they don\u2019t pay? Does it go into a warrant and now it gives us an excuse to incarcerate somebody? These are failed responses. We know for a fact that it will not work.\u201d<\/p>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1690710\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1690710\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><a class=\"tdb-logo-a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" title=\"Washington Examiner\"><span class=\"tdb-logo-img-wrap\"><\/span><span class=\"tdb-logo-text-wrap\"><span class=\"tdb-logo-text-title\">Washington Examiner<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<p><\/body><\/html><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Democratic-led cities are divided on how to handle a recent Supreme Court ruling that allows authorities to remove homeless people&#8217;s tents on public grounds. Some leaders support the decision, while others are vowing to ignore it. The ruling, known as Grants Pass v. Johnson, lifted restrictions preventing municipalities from tearing down encampments and was seen as not violating the 8th Amendment. Despite the ruling, cities are split on how to implement it, with some, like Cleveland, not planning to change their approach to homelessness, while others, like Seattle, are more open to enforcing anti-camping ordinances. The ruling is also affecting lawsuits surrounding similar encampment disputes, with some cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles considering stricter enforcement measures. The decision has received mixed reactions from Democratic leaders, with concerns about minimizing criminality for homelessness being a common thread among their responses<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2633,"featured_media":2292561,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/California-Homeless-Crisis.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[34641,33921,33630,32076],"class_list":["post-2292560","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-democratic-led-cities","tag-homeless-crisis","tag-supreme-court-ruling","tag-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/California-Homeless-Crisis.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2292560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2633"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2292560"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2292560\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2292561"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2292560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2292560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2292560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}