Across the country, hundreds of thousands of our neighbors have been forced from their homes and onto the streets. This is simply not their choice. It is the result of policy choices made by elected leaders. Rising housing prices and a lack of safe havens have exacerbated the homelessness crisis in cities and towns.
This is the case in Grants Pass, a town of about 40,000 people in the southwest corner of Oregon. Homelessness is not unique, but the city's aggressive response to impose $295 fines on people who have nowhere else to sleep is immoral.
Grants Pass is currently at the center of a case before the Supreme Court, which is questioning whether such punitive measures violate the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits excessive bail, fines, and cruel and unusual punishment. is judged. The justices heard oral arguments last month and are expected to issue a decision in June.
Should America punish people who become homeless?
At the heart of this case is the question of whether people who are homeless should be punished. Many states and cities will turn to the courts to resolve this issue, but we also need to understand this as a moral issue.
Universally shared principles, from the Talmud to the Bible, from Jesus to the Prophet Muhammad, to our founding fathers and ancestors, have led to universal agreement today that society should not punish people for being poor. is showing. In fact, the prophet Isaiah said that the health of a nation depends on its willingness to welcome the homeless and poor. “When you did it to the least of these, you did it to me,” Jesus says.
Grants Pass has no public shelter for the unhoused, and even those who would normally be able to afford housing face rental vacancy rates just above zero. ing. Many people turn to the streets because they have no other choice.
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The city's strategy to clear this community was aimed at “making sure[homeless people]don't feel comfortable enough so they want to continue on their way.”
But Grants Pass is more than just unpleasant.
Grants Pass has effectively made it illegal to be alive and homeless by banning people from sleeping under blankets in public places at any time of the year.
What is “cruel and unusual” punishment?
By their very nature, determining what is “cruel and abnormal” requires setting moral thresholds and making moral judgments. The Supreme Court has long held that the moral perspective of faith-based communities is an important factor in determining what is “cruel and unusual,” including in cases involving the death penalty, conditions of confinement, and juvenile sentencing. It has been established.
As a broad coalition of religious groups argues in court briefs in the Grants Pass case, sacred religious texts have long directed society to protect the poor and homeless.
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The constitution of my home state of North Carolina includes a “charity provision for the poor” as a state obligation.
The teachings of our nation's early leaders also affirm the dignity and protection of the poor and homeless. Moral values have influenced our understanding and interpretation of our rights since America's founding, when the Eighth Amendment was enshrined in the Bill of Rights.
So, as questions of morality have a legitimate role in this debate, we can look to both theology and our own constitutional documents for guidance.
The Supreme Court should affirm the dignity and protection of the homeless, ensuring that all human beings, especially the poor, are treated with their inherent worth and dignity.
Reverend William Barber He is chairman of Repairers of the Breach, co-chair of Unite the Poor, and founding director and professor of the Center for Public Theology and Public Policy at Yale University.
