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- cross-posted to:
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In Kentucky, politicians are preparing to vote on a law that would authorize the use of force against unhoused people who are found to be camping on private property.
Republican politicians in Kentucky are rallying behind a new bill that would authorize the use of forceāand potentially deadly forceāagainst unhoused people who are found to be camping on private property. The bill would also criminalize unsanctioned homeless encampments and restrict cities and towns from preempting state laws.
The bill, known as the āSafer Kentucky Act,ā or HB5, would target homelessness, drug possession and mental illness by drastically increasing criminal penalties for a range of offenses. Introduced last week by Republican state representative Jared Bauman, it already has 52 sponsors in Kentuckyās House of Representatives. A vote is scheduled for this week.
Advocates are most alarmed by one aspect of the āSafer Kentucky Actā in particular: an anti-homeless provision that would authorize violence by property owners on people camping on their property. The bill says the use of force is ājustifiableā if a defendant believes that criminal trespass, robbery or āunlawful campingā is occurring on their property.
Their plan to fight homelessness and mental illness is simple: Make them illegal! That should solve it.
Meanwhile, regulating firearms wonāt work because then only criminals will have guns. These people are ducking evil.
This is the same crowd that wanted to fight COVID by just letting people die until it wasnāt a problem anymore.