Title: Homeless Bill of Rights - Wikipedia
Headings: Homeless Bill of Rights
Homeless Bill of Rights
Contents
Overview
Criminalization of Homelessness
Controversy over Legislation Affecting the Homeless
Legislation in the United States
Rhode Island
Illinois
Connecticut
California
Colorado
See also
References
External links

Content: They are contrary to the fundamental religious and political principals from which the American people seek guidance, and their existence demonstrates that we have fallen vastly short of our religious and foundational aspirations. Homeless Bills of Rights seek to amend local codes that outlaw loitering, vagrancy, sitting or lying on the sidewalk, begging, urinating, eating in public, and other behaviors that disproportionately affect homeless people. Most homeless advocates agree that the issue of homelessness can only be alleviated if there is a focus placed on changing laws that criminalize homelessness. Controversy over Legislation Affecting the Homeless
The "Beds Not Bars" slogan suggests that society must help homeless people instead of outlawing their behavior. Skid Row in Los Angeles is sometimes mentioned as an area that would deteriorate if homelessness was not regulated
Opposition to legislature that supports the rights of unhoused individuals primarily comes from state and city officials, housed citizens, and varied business interests. Increasing the visibility of homelessness as a public issue is an implicit goal of many Homeless Bill of Rights advocates. Visible homelessness, especially in the form of encampments, is typically regarded as a failure of the city or state. Most anti-homeless legislation seeks to mitigate the issue by moving unhoused individuals from one space to another and thus decrease the visibility of "undesirable" individuals in public spaces. Business interests, represented by the California Chamber of Commerce, have called Assemblymember Tom Ammiano's Homeless Person's Bill of Rights a "job killer" which would create "costly and unreasonable mandates on employers." Some municipalities and local politicians also oppose the laws, which impose state authority to overturn local regulations.