In recent years, cities have increasingly criminalized the lives of those living on the streets with moves such as banning sleeping in cars and making it illegal to lie down in public spaces. Denver was one of many cities to restrict camping and loitering.
Now, the Colorado legislature has introduced a bill to protect homeless people in Denver.
“We’re reaffirming the rights of homeless people,” said State Rep. Joe Salazar, one of the bill’s co-sponsors. “You can’t say that you’re taking care of or addressing the issue of homelessness by adopting laws that push homeless people to other areas.” (Colorado State Rep. Jovan Melton also sponsored the bill; neither is from Denver.)
The Denver Business Journal explains that the bill “would allow persons experiencing homelessness to move about freely and rest in public spaces without discrimination, and let them eat or accept food in any public space where food is not prohibited,” and give unfairly targeted people recourse:
Those who claim their rights have been violated under the bill could file a civil action against local governments and receive actual and compensatory damages of as much as $1,000 per violation.
Jenn Stanley is a freelance journalist, essayist and independent producer living in Chicago. She has an M.S. from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
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