A Christian ministry urged the Supreme Court to criminalize homelessness
https://www.friendlyatheist.com/p/a-christian-ministry-urged-the-supremeYesterday, the Supreme Court heard a case that centers around how cities should deal with homelessness. One of the most striking revelations, however, may have come from a Christian ministry that insisted the homeless need to be converted or punished.
The case involved the city of Grants Pass, Oregon, where there are more homeless people than available beds in shelters. City leaders have chosen to address the problem, not by building affordable housing or additional shelters but rather by fining people hundreds of dollars for using blankets, pillows, or cardboard boxes on the streets. When homeless people accrue multiple fines, they can be banned from public property… literally leaving them with nowhere to go. And if they remain in the city, they can be criminally prosecuted.
A previous legal case already declared those kinds of penalties unconstitutional, amounting to cruel and unusual punishment. So with the help of an attorney, a group of homeless people in Grants Pass filed a lawsuit against the city, saying local ordinances that punished them for basically existing were illegal. After all, they said, they weren’t choosing to live on the streets. There were no other options available to them.
Despite winning their case in lower courts, the city repeatedly appealed the decisions all the way up to the Supreme Court. The question in front of the justices is whether the city should be allowed to criminalize homelessness. It would be a disaster—and just another layer of cruelty—if SCOTUS rules in favor of Grants Pass.
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= new reply since forum marked as read
... this "Christian ministry" is not Christian. AND, most of the people coming across the southern border ARE already Christian, so they would not have to "convert."
It's not exclusive to any one group of them. After all, this is not a conservative evangelical church (CofE):
Or this one (Lutheran):
Right? 
Why can't we just do that before we make them jump through hoops & then take away their liberty?
Personally, I think we should have a citizen's survival package issued to every adult, which includes:
> three hots & a cot
> basic health care, including dental, mental, & vision
> child care/elder care
> basic education K-college
> high speed internet across the land
> a comprehensive public transportation system so one can get around the US & US cities & towns without a car or plane
IDK how we do that but I'll bet if we funded a bunch of working mothers it would get done & on budget.
Years ago I posted something similar on a friend's FB page & someone he knew responded with a picture of a blank sheet of paper & the text, "This is what you were promised when you were born." Our governments are being hijacked by some of the meanest, most punitive & closed-minded assholes imaginable. They don't value community & the communities they are a part of are very exclusive, not inclusive. That rugged individualist crap really infected a lot of people.
...Christian...
...this is not good advertising...why would anyone join or follow the beliefs of such nasty evil people...??
...what hapened to, "...life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness -- land of the free, home of the brave...??"
...'converted or punished'
...me thinks being converted is being punished...
