By Jacob Richards
In June, the supreme court ruled in Grants Pass vs. Johnson that local governments could again criminalize houselessness without concerns of running afoul of the pesky eighth amendment barring cruel and unusual punishment.
California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) is leading the charge. At the end of July, he issued an executive order mandating communities dismantle established homeless encampments.
On August 20, the city of Montrose, held a first hearing on two ordinances to criminalizing homelessness.
Mayor J. David Reed stressed that this law targeted behavior not the unhoused. But the camping ban included a mandatory ten-day jail sentence for a second offences.
About a dozen citizens spoke. From lawyers, to cowboys, to social workers and people currently experiencing homelessness.
The council were informed of the fact that 200+ people are unhoused in Montrose. The city’s only shelter is only open in the coldest months. Even during the winter only about 25% of people experiencing homelessness can get in.
In a surprise move, the council voted to table the ordinance until their next council workshop, without taking a vote on it. It will be back likely without the mandatory jail time.
The Daily Sentinel reported recently that camping ticket issued by GJPD almost doubled between June and July. From 13 to 25 tickets. The PD was quick to distance the uptick from the Grants Pass ruling.
The City of Grand Junction, of course has been waging a war on the homelessness long before the Grants Pass ruling.
GJ waged this war euphemistically. Harassment was branded as ‘outreach.’ Closing Whitman park was spun as ‘reimaging’ the park. Camp sweeps were ‘fire mediation’ and ‘brush removal.’
We can debate all the weasel words, Mayor Abe Herman, his mentor Anna Stout and the Daily Sentinel are happy to do that, but the growing sprawling encampments in the desert north of Grand Junction are evidence of the war on unhoused people free of doublespeak, spin, and euphemism we currently get from City Hall.
Human rights are under threat across western Colorado—we need to do more than just vote.
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