NASHVILLE, Tenn. —
The Supreme Court supports a Tennessee rule that makes it illegal to camp on public land in the High Cost of Homelessness case.
Some people think that this makes being homeless a crime, which could make things even worse, while others think that the Supreme Court’s ruling could stop people from living on the streets.
The high court ruled 6-3 that towns can now make it illegal for people to sleep or camp in public places. In California, an appeals court had said that the rules were too harsh, but this overturned that decision.
It’s hard to decide how to feel about the decision now.
Jesse Rabinowitz from the National Homelessness Law Center says that people will find it harder to find a place to live if they are fined or jailed.
It was a shame that the Homeless Law Center made their choice today, says Rabinowitz. “Punishing people for doing what they need to survive is fundamentally unjust and will never solve homelessness.”
“The Supreme Court’s decision was huge,” says community activist Brittany McCann. “That was a big part of the reason we couldn’t close our camp in Hermitage.” We were not able to house people. We had no choice but to let it grow. We had to stand by and watch as people died of drugs.
McCann thinks this decision by the high court is a win.
“We’ve tried the experiment of living on public land, with no plumbing, no toilets, no hygiene, and it wasn’t,” she says.
In 2022, Tennessee lawmakers passed a law that makes camping on state-owned land a Class E felony. On Friday, FOX 17 News asked the mayor’s office what rules they plan to enforce across the whole city after the Supreme Court ruling.
In a letter, they told us that their goal is to make sure that people can get homes and services.
April Calvin from the Office of Homeless Services says that they will use this decision to fight for more housing options.
“What I know about our community is we are resilient, we are service providers that are passionate and feisty, and what I know about our mayor and local government is they are solutions-based,” he says.
This was also asked of the district attorney’s office by FOX 17 News. The office says that General Funk does not go after poor people, but that each case is unique and will be looked at carefully.
