Basic Human Rights are denied to homeless persons. Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.”
In an attempt to “manage” (i.e. limit) the homeless, Santa Barbara is on the cutting edge of violating their basic human rights to life. They have legislated laws directed at the homeless to be used for “selective enforcement.” They have three ordinances which are evoked by the act of a person falling asleep. It is illegal to fall asleep in a parked vehicle, a park, or the beach.
The must basic human right must be to allow someone to live a harmless life. What more harmless act can a person undertake but to sleep? (Forgetting about the operation of heavy machinery, please.)
The essential ingredients to life must include eating, sleeping, defecating and moving about. I brought this issue before the city council, challenging the legitimacy and humanity of these ordinances (my docket to challenge the council was neither the first, nor was it the last.) There was a TV camera and dozens of homeless present to speak and support the challenge but in the end, the council’s decision: “These laws are working for us.”
