Program date: November 15, 2024
Air date: November 18, 2024
From the City Club of Eugene:
In the June 2024 case City of Grants Pass v. Johnson, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the Eighth Amendment allows cities to punish people experiencing homelessness for sleeping and camping in public spaces. The Eighth Amendment prohibits the government from inflicting “cruel and unusual” punishments. The ruling means that cities can impose criminal penalties for public camping and sleeping, even when individuals are homeless involuntarily due to a lack of available shelter and housing in the community.
The Supreme Court majority reasoned that the ordinances punished acts, not the status of being homeless, because the ordinances would apply to anyone who sleeps outside in public, regardless of whether they are a person experiencing homelessness, a student protesting, or a backpacker. The dissent countered that, because sleep is a biological necessity, unhoused individuals who have no access to shelter cannot avoid sleeping outside, and therefore such laws punish them for being homeless.
As both the majority and dissenting opinions recognized, laws other than the Eighth Amendment still govern what cities can and cannot do. Notably in Oregon, the Legislature passed a bill in 2021 requiring that any city law that regulates acts of sitting, lying, sleeping, and keeping warm and dry outdoors on public property be objectively reasonable in time, place, and manner with regards to persons experiencing homelessness.
Come out to hear about what will be happening on the streets in Oregon.
About the City Club of Eugene:
The mission of the City Club of Eugene is to build community vision through open inquiry. The Club explores a wide range of significant local, state, and national issues and helps to formulate new approaches and solutions to problems. Membership is open to all, and Club members have a direct influence on public policy by discussing issues of concern with elected officials and other policy makers. The City Club’s mailing address is PO Box 12084, Eugene, OR 97440, and its website is cityclubofeugene.org.
Video and Broadcast
This program will be live streamed, and the videotape will be made available on the City Club of Eugene’s Facebook page and You Tube Channel, in addition to our website. It will be broadcast on Monday, Sept. 30, at 7:00 p.m., on KLCC 89.7 FM.
Contact: For more information, visit CityClubOfEugene.org.