{"id":1050,"date":"2013-06-24T21:40:47","date_gmt":"2013-06-24T21:40:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/?p=1050"},"modified":"2013-07-04T19:27:22","modified_gmt":"2013-07-04T19:27:22","slug":"connecticut-homeless-bill-of-rights-awaits-govs-signature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/connecticut-homeless-bill-of-rights-awaits-govs-signature\/","title":{"rendered":"Connecticut Homeless Bill of Rights Awaits Gov’s Signature"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Connecticut Passes Landmark \u2018Homeless Person\u2019s Bill Of Rights\u2019 Law<\/a>By Scott Keyes<\/a>on Jun 12, 2013 at 10:30 am<\/p>\n
\"\"<\/a>(Credit: Shutterstock)\n<\/div>\n

Connecticut is on the cusp of enacting a major new law to protect people who are homeless from discrimination.<\/p>\n

Last week, Connecticut lawmakers passed the \u201cHomeless Person\u2019s Bill Of Rights\u201d at the literal 11th hour \u2014 11:30pm on June 5th, one half hour before the legislative session ended. The bill, SB 896, a landmark piece of legislation to protect homeless individuals\u2019 rights, adds homeless people as a protected class who can\u2019t be discriminated against in employment, housing, or public accommodations. It also includes protections for homeless people to move freely in public spaces, such as parks and sidewalks, without being singled out for harassment by law enforcement officers.<\/p>\n

Here are the bill\u2019s seven protections:<\/p>\n

(1) Move freely in public spaces, including on public sidewalks, in public parks, on public transportation and in public buildings without harassment or intimidation from law enforcement officers in the same manner as other persons;
\n(2) Have equal opportunities for employment;
\n(3) Receive emergency medical care;
\n(4) Register to vote and to vote;
\n(5) Have personal information protected;
\n(6) Have a reasonable expectation of privacy in his or her personal property; and
\n(7) Receive equal treatment by state and municipal agencies.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is no symbolic victory, Michael Stoops, Director of Community Organizing at the National Coalition for the Homeless, explained. \u201cHomeless people are regularly discriminated against in employment and housing,\u201d Stoops told ThinkProgress.<\/p>\n

Nate Fox, Project Supervisor for Faces Of Homelessness Connecticut, a group that advocated for the bill, hailed its passage. \u201cCurrently, there are certain civil liberties that could be automatically wiped out when you walked into a homeless shelter,\u201d Fox told ThinkProgress. This bill not only fixes that unintended side effect of shelters and other homeless services, it\u2019s also \u201cchanged the conversation on how to protect homeless persons\u2019 rights,\u201d Fox said.<\/p>\n

The bill now awaits Gov. Dan Malloy\u2019s (D) signature before it can take effect at its scheduled date of October 1, 2013. It will not only play a major role in preventing discrimination against homeless people; it could also have an effect on municipalities like Hartford which currently have anti-loitering and anti-panhandling ordinances.<\/p>\n

If it ultimately becomes law, Connecticut will become just the second state in the nation to enact a Homeless Person\u2019s Bill of Rights. Last year, Rhode Island became the first state<\/a> to do so. Illinois could increase the number to three if Gov. Pat Quinn (D) signs a bill which passed<\/a> the legislature recently, and other states like Oregon and Delaware are considering similar legislation.<\/p>\n

FOR LOTS OF INTERESTING COMMENTS GO TO:
\nhttp:\/\/thinkprogress.org\/justice\/2013\/06\/12\/2139181\/connecticut-homeless\/?mobile=nc<\/wbr><\/wbr><\/wbr><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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