TFL Vsebine / Revija Pravnik

11

Brezdomstvo je resen problem po vsem svetu. Nekoč dokaj redek, je zdaj pereč problem v Združenih državah Amerike, kjer je število brezdomcev leta 2023 doseglo rekordno raven, zlasti v več zahodnih zveznih državah, vključno s Kalifornijo in Oregonom. Temeljne vzroke je mogoče iskati predvsem v težavah z duševnim zdravjem, odvisnostih, nizkih dohodkih in zlasti pomanjkanju cenovno dostopnih stanovanj. Moški so pogosteje brezdomci kot ženske. Ljudje ameriškega indijanskega, aljaškega domorodnega ali domorodnega porekla ter ljudje temnopoltega, afroameriškega ali afriškega porekla prav tako doživljajo višje stopnje brezdomstva kot celotno prebivalstvo. Prebivalci skupnosti, kjer je brezdomstvo naraslo, so politike pozvali, naj sprejmejo ukrepe za zajezitev problema. Da bi zmanjšala število taborišč ali šotorskih mest in da bi pomirila svoje volilne volivce, so mesta sprejela uredbe, ki omogočajo civilne in kazenske sankcije za tiste, ki spijo zunaj. Ti zakoni so bili izpodbijani na sodiščih, zlasti na pacifiškem severozahodu. Brezdomci so naleteli na naklonjenost sodnikov zveznega prizivnega sodišča devetega okrožja, ki je v več primerih razsodilo, da odloki proti taborjenju kršijo klavzulo o krutih in nenavadnih kaznih osmega amandmaja ustave ZDA. Ob koncu mandata leta 2024 je konservativni blok vrhovnega sodišča Združenih držav razveljavil sodbo sodišča devetega okrožja v zadevi City of Grants Pass proti Johnsonu in s tem dopustil veljavnost teh odlokov. Avtor meni, tako kot nasprotniki v tem primeru, da je kaznovanje brezdomcev kontraproduktivno in da je boljša, cenejša in sočutnejša dolgoročna rešitev, da mesta primarno sprejmejo stanovanjske politike, primerljive tistim na Finskem in v drugih evropskih državah.

Homelessness is a serious problem worldwide. Once fairly rare, it now is an urgent problem in the United States, where the homeless population has surged to record levels in 2023, especially in several western states, including California and Oregon. Root causes can be traced primarily to mental health issues, addictions, low incomes and especially the lack of affordable housing. Men are more often homeless than women. People of American Indian, Alaskan Native, or Indigenous descent, as well as people of Black, African American, or African descent, also experience higher rates of homelessness than the overall population. Residents of communities where homelessness has surged have urged politicians to take steps to curb the problem. To reduce encampments or tent cities and to appease their voting constituents, cities have enacted ordinances that allow for both civil and criminal penalties for those sleeping out of doors. These laws have been challenged in the courts, especially in the Pacific Northwest. The homeless found sympathetic judges in the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which in several cases held anti-camping ordinances violative of the Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause of the Eighth Amendment. At the end of the 2024 term, the conservative block of the United States Supreme Court reversed the Ninth Circuit in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson, thus allowing these ordinances to stand. The author believes, as did the dissenters in this case, that penalizing the homeless is counter-productive and a better, less expensive, and more compassionate long-term solution is for cities to adopt Housing First policies, such as those in Finland and other European countries.

Homelessness in the U.S. Why the Supreme Court’s Ruling in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson Allowing the Criminalization of Homelessness is both Cruel and Counter-Productive