Supreme Court Backs Homeless Camping Bans, Drawing Local Praise and Criticism

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision Friday allowing local governments to ban homeless camping drew both praise and criticism from San Diego lawmakers and social service organizations.

State Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones, who has authored a statewide anti-camping law, said the court’s decision rightly empowers state and local officials to compassionately clear encampments.”

“Californians should not have to tolerate the encampments that have taken over our communities,” said Jones. “This is not about criminalizing homelessness — it’s about ensuring the safety of both the community and homeless individuals.”

But Father Joe’s Villages, the region’s largest provider of services to the homeless, cautioned that homeless individuals deserve “love, compassion, and a second chance.”

“Thousands of men, women and children across the country have little option each night other than to find a place to sleep outside,” said Deacon Jim Vargas, president and CEO. “For our neighbors who have to make this impossible choice, jails are not the answer.”

The Regional Task Force on Homelessness also expressed disappointment with the ruling.

“This ruling, by a divided Supreme Court, won’t help us solve homelessness, but it will harm people experiencing homelessness. It’s inhumane,” said Tamera Kohler, CEO of the task force.

“And it gives a green light to politicians and police who prefer arrests and time behind bars, rather than real solutions,” she added.

The high court ruled 6-3 that enforcing bans when no shelter space is available for the homeless does not violate the Constitution’s prohibition on “cruel and unusual” punishments.

Justice Neil Gorsuch, who authored the ruling, wrote, “Homelessness is complex. Its causes are many. So may be the public policy responses required to address it. At bottom, the question this case presents is whether the Eighth Amendment grants federal judges primary responsibility for assessing those causes and devising those responses. It does not.”

Homelessness remains a multifaceted problem for public officials in the United States as many municipalities experience chronic shortages of affordable housing. On any given night, more than 600,000 people are homeless, according to U.S. government estimates.