Austin City Councilmember Greg Casar is getting some backlash following Council’s vote to ease regulations surrounding the city’s homeless population. He tweets a photo of a letter someone sent him picturing an urn, with a note saying here’s what we should do for the vagrants. Casar said, “Its an extreme version of anti-homeless rhetoric but its connected to real, everyday risks for our homeless population.
In Council’s latest meeting they voted to ease the local sit and lie ordinance making it legal to virtually camp on any public space in the city, they also changed the panhandling ordinance to focus on aggressive behavior instead.
This move also gained the ire of Texas Governor Greg Abbot who threatened to roll back the city’s decision in the next legislative session.
Austin’s Mayor Steve Adler said the council is not finished with these ordinance changes, pledging City Manager Spencer Cronk will have more proposals and clarifications around the ordinances for council after their July Council break.
(Photo:Shutterstock/ Philip Arno)
A few weeks ago, #atxcouncil voted to decriminalize the mere status of being homeless.
Yesterday, I received this in the mail. pic.twitter.com/ivhu3OvBW2
— Gregorio Casar (@GregCasar) July 10, 2019
3/ A study conducted by @Ntl_Homeless found AT LEAST 476 homeless people were killed by those with anti-homeless sentiments over a 19-year period.
Obviously this is unacceptable, but the level of life threatening danger faced by ppl experiencing homelessness should be, too:
— Gregorio Casar (@GregCasar) July 10, 2019
5/ These are just three of the many devastating realities ppl face everyday.
To try to arrest away homelessness, make them invisible, is to only put them at greater risk. It ignores our responsibility as a society to take care of one another. #austinhomeless #homesnothandcuffs
— Gregorio Casar (@GregCasar) July 10, 2019
