In 2014, a some cities in Hawaii passed legislation making it illegal to sit or lie on sidewalks.
These laws were quickly challenged as being discriminatory towards the homeless.
In fact, many cities have passed similar laws specifically criminalizing homeless behavior.
So, what rights do the homeless have in America?
In 2013 the number of homeless in the united States passed 600,000, and that number is
growing.
Many who are homeless find it more difficult to find employment and housing, regardless
of their ability.
The stigma of homelessness is a powerful obstruction in the lives of many Americans.
Yet despite the inherent difficulty in being homeless, a number of social institutions
seek to make it even harder, in order to benefit less disenfranchised groups.
As many as a third of US cities had laws criminalizing sitting or lying in a public space.
These legal codes effectively make it illegal to be homeless without addressing the issue
of homelessness.
This is done by specifically targeting unavoidable homeless behavior, while espousing the idea
that the law is intended to prevent a broader form of nuisance.
Laws against loitering, vagrancy, begging, or sleeping in streets and parks means that
many are forced into homeless shelters or to make their way to cities with laxer anti-homeless
laws.
This selective legislation is not a new idea.
In 1894, a famed French writer commented, that ''the law, in its majestic equality,
forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets and to
steal bread.''
However, not all states are so reticent to acknowledge homeless rights.
In Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Illinois, some legislation is referred to as a “Homeless
Bill of Rights”.
It attempts to guarantee equal access for all to: medical care, free speech, free movement,
voting rights, employment opportunities, and privacy.
Additionally, Puerto Rico and some US states including California, Texas, Florida, and
Maryland have laws protecting the homeless as potential hate crime targets.
With a widening inequality gap, rising poverty, and less mental health funding, homelessness
is an unavoidable problem in the United States.
Laws specifically targeting those who need the most help are evasive solutions to a much
larger problem.
For a closer look at the lives of America’s homeless, check out this video from This Happened
here.
Or for an overview on the number of homeless people in America check out video below.
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