ACLU Threatens to Sue City (Homeless have a constitutional right to defecate on streets)

WOAI ^ | 4 Feb 2005 | Jim Forsyth

[Alissa]

The American Civil Liberties Union is threatening to sue the City of San Antonio over those four new laws passed by City Council last night designed to restrict the activities of homeless people downtown, 1200 WOAI news reported today.

"We have a fundamental problem with this," Texas ACLU Exective Director Will Harrell told 1200 WOAI news. "We are invested with certain freedoms on public lands.

"Just because a homeless person may be an eyesore that doesn't divest them of their fundamental Constitutional rights."

With only west side Councilwoman Patti Radle, a lifelong advocate for the poor, voting no, council approved laws banning urinating and defecating on downtown streets, as well as laws making so called 'aggressive panhandling' a crime.

"What are we doing to the homeless?" Radle asked. "We are X-ing them out of the neighborhood, and pushing them out into other areas."

Several downtown groups have been pushing for months to get tougher laws on the books restricting the activities of transients downtown.

Harrell says the answer is not to 'sweep the homeless out of the way.'

"The way for the city to deal with this is to provide affordable housing, as well as additional downtown restroom facilities," he said.

He said he'll keep an eye on how the city is dealing with this issue, and stresses that a lawsuit against the city is an 'option of last resort.'

[Alissa]

Just heard this on the radio! Unbelievable.

[NRA1995]

Let them perform their bathroom functions on ACLU property!

[lilylangtree]

Wish someone would bring a multi-billion dollar lawsuit against the ACLU and WIN.

[Argh]

And let the ACLU provide the "affordable housing" too!

[BossLady]

Yep....nothing like sitting down to a nice dinner and catching a glimpse of someone defecating on the sidewalk..... ;)

[tfecw]

I thought pretty much every city had a ban on pissing/pooping/puking on city streets. I got a ticket for ralphing on a side walk once. I should have known they were violating my constitutional right to vomit where i please. It says so right there in Section *cough cough cough*

[snarkytart]

Wish someone would bring a multi-billion dollar lawsuit against the ACLU and WIN.

I know, right.

[tfecw]

I dunno I do miss the good ol days where you "went" in a bucket, then tossed it out the window. Plague? what plague?

[goldstategop]

Are you sure its not satire? A bowel movement in public is now a form of constitutionally protected expression? I wonder what there is the ACLU will not yet go out of its way to defend.

Denny Crane: "There are two places to find the truth. First God and then Fox News."

[Voteamerica]

I agree it should be illegal, but when you gotta go you gotta go. What is the alternative?

[bmwcyle]

Repeal all dog laws also. /sarcasm

[henkster]

To the ACLU members of San Antone: The sidewalks in your nice upscale liberal limousine neighborhoods are fair game. Just tell the kids we're making some human "litter critters."

[Zeppelin]

And San Antonio is the city in which Ozzy Osbourne pissed on the Alamo. Kinda funny, this city has problems with people pissin all over it. I live in Austin, and there are alot of homeless here.

[goldstategop]

Let's pass a law allowing the homeless to poop on the lawns of limousine liberals. We'll see then if the ACLU still thinks an "eyesore" must be something people ought to put up with and shut up about.

Denny Crane: "There are two places to find the truth. First God and then Fox News."

[Gabz]

But heaven forbid someone have the audacity to light a cigarette near one of them...the ACLU would be suing the smoker for violating the homeless rights for a clean environment. /sarcasm

[Michael.SF.]

Lets ask the Who what they think of the ACLU:

[pepsionice]

Every major city has a sanitation code...which can be strictly or loosely enforced. Anybody that threatens the safety of citizens of the town...is open to law enforcement and the city code. ACLU can run right into court...but its mostly a lost cause. If they want various diseases running around the town...all due to poor sanitation practices of some street dwellers...they have to have a screw loose.

[advance_copy]

Well, this proves it. The ACLU is full of sh**

[Servant of the 9]

If San Antonio want s to look like downtown San Francisco. If they want tourism to begin to wither and vanish, they can let this happen.

The city better prepare to spend unlimited money on the best sheisters in the country to win this one.

So9