Civil Rights Coalition Condemns Cruel SCOTUS Decision to Punish Homelessness
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mattie Goldman, [email protected]
WASHINGTON — Maya Wiley, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, released the following statement after the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson:
“No one should be criminalized for being homeless. It is a consequence of a critical shortage of truly affordable housing and, in some instances, additional services like mental health care — and it demands meaningful solutions, not additional harms. Once again, the Supreme Court’s extremist majority has decided to allow the criminalization of poverty and the infringement of our civil rights. Penalizing people for sleeping in public when they have nowhere safe to go effectively punishes people for the status of being homeless, rather than their behavior. This decision will do nothing to address the root causes of homelessness, which is a product not of individual behavior but due to a shortage of affordable homes. The penalties upheld in this case will make it even harder for people to obtain shelter — with the impact falling heavily on people of color, people with mental health disabilities, and domestic violence survivors.
“We are deeply concerned that other cities will now also ramp up their laws to punish people who sleep outside because they have nowhere else to go. Without proper avenues to support and protect individuals experiencing homelessness, this ruling will likely contribute to poverty and homelessness instead of reducing it. As the Court’s majority is committed to taking away our rights, we must continue to work in coalition to build a multiracial, thriving democracy that advances our civil rights.”
The Leadership Conference joined an amicus brief, which is available here. We also published an explainer ahead of oral arguments in the case, which is available here.
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 240 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.
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