PETITION CLOSED

  • The time period for signing this petition has ended.
Say "No!" to a Sit/Lie Ordinance to Outlaw Homelessness in SF!
  1. Signatures
    423 out of 500
    Petitioning
    1. Mayor (Gavin Newsom)
  2. Created By
    SlumJack Homeless
    Berkeley, CA
About this Petition Petition Letter Petition Updates

The City by the Bay is currently considering a measure to outlaw sitting and/or lying on the famed Haight Street sidewalks. Or, possibly, any and all sidewalks citywide. Mayor Gavin Newsom personally introduced an ordinance to the Board of Supervisors. Thankfully, it was voted down. But now the measure will be on November's ballot. 

This is a decoy law targeting the homeless. It's a mistake to frame this as a "homeless problem" or to react with undeserved and undue regulations stripping longstanding rights and freedoms from law-abiding residents, homeless or not. 

Newsom is down-playing the homeless insinuations, but too many of us know from experience that once the police get unleashed with laws like this, actual street-level enforcements are mostly left to them. There's a long and continuing history of these types of laws being wielded oppressively and specifically against homeless persons.

Sign the petition to tell Mayor Newsom to stop supporting such a misguided measure.

Photo credit: highrise78

Recent Signatures

Please Don't Support a Discriminatory Sit/Lie Ordinance

Greetings,

I was disheartened to learn of efforts to institute a sit/lie ordinance in San Francisco, a city known for welcoming all kinds of people.

Proponents complain about a new breed of "street punks" antagonizing citizens with especially disruptive, menacing misbehavior and unlawful acts. But the proposed ordinance is excessively broad and would penalize the already unfortunate, although they, too, are citizens deserving of the same protections from the acts of real criminals.

Additionally, it has been reported that police efforts to enforce existing laws have been getting the desired results. Further efforts of this kind, including increased foot patrols, are the way to go.

I urge you not to support such a misguided measure as a sit/lie ordinance, even if it is introduced with the best of intentions.

Sincerely,

[Your name]

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