![\"Jeremy](\"https:\/\/ci3.googleusercontent.com\/proxy\/LX39WACOHEXc-olrgCtfZn3suEzZomFTDRbjNz6fIrqWzQSebMDLYj_xpoELlBOOfCCSmLTdZQ94WhPmR3D32mozM_tVssjduXvbKGFlYNtqKg97VZf15qzq4VAdhEt0y_SMoPTr2XznBHvAc6cxD0Nzq5X1gym0COHKmjQO=s0-d-e1-ft#http:\/\/jeremybosso.files.wordpress.com\/2014\/01\/jeremy_bosso_city_council_01_23_2014-rev1.jpg?w=278&h=300\")
<\/a>Jeremy Bosso speaks to Pensacola City Council<\/div>\n\u201cGood evening, City Council. I just wanted to bring to your attention, WEAR ABC News posted a sort of Public Service Announcement, if you will, just reminding people with this cute little meme<\/a> on their Facebook page. It\u2019s a cute little dog, and it says \u201cIf it\u2019s too cold for you, it\u2019s too cold for them. Please bring your pets inside. Please share to get out this message.\u201d I would just like to say that I fully agree with this, that if it\u2019s too cold for you, it\u2019s too cold for your pets. But I would also like to ask that the City Council extend that same courtesy to our fellow human beings. The temperatures have reached the teens recently. It\u2019s expected to be a hard freeze tonight. And because of that, I\u2019d like to ask the Council to respectfully reconsider the \u201ccamping\u201d ordinance that I believe several other people have mentioned, that does prohibit sleeping with a blanket, a sleeping bag. I think we should extend that courtesy to our fellow humans. I mean, we do it for the animals, and I think we should respect life at all stages<\/strong>.\u201d<\/em> The \u201ccamping\u201d ordinance states:<\/p>\n Ordinance 17-13 <\/strong>AN ORDINANCE CREATING SECTION 8-1-22 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF PENSACOLA<\/strong>, FLORIDA; PROHIBITING CAMPING AS DEFINED ON ALL PUBLIC PROPERTY OF THE CITY PROVIDING EXCEPTIONS; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; REPEALING CLAUSE; PROVIDING EFFECTIVE DATE. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY OF PENSACOLA, FLORIDA: SECTION\u00a0 1. Section 8-1-22 of the Code of the City of Pensacola, Florida is hereby created to read as follows:<\/p>\n Sec. 8-1-22 Camping prohibited; exceptions FOR VIDEO AND COMMENTS GO TO http:\/\/www. I think most of us can agree that life isn\u2019t easy. \u00a0So many Americans live in a perpetual state of fear about the future. \u00a0Going paycheck to paycheck, one long string of bad luck away from total catastrophe. \u00a0I remember when I was a server thinking sometimes that all it took was one wrong step, breaking my ankle, and I would have been absolutely screwed. \u00a0What good is a server if you can\u2019t walk?<\/p>\n Our lives can change in an instant. \u00a0We\u2019re brought up in different environments and have to overcome different obstacles. \u00a0It\u2019s why I try not to judge people (outside of their willful ignorance) because I really don\u2019t know what they\u2019ve had to overcome in life or what led them to their particular hardships. The last thing I\u2019d ever support, or want to see happen, is for a city to pass laws that almost seem to be picking on homeless people. \u00a0Laws or ordinances that make the lives of people who already live in extremely challenging situations even more difficult. Right now there\u2019s a \u201ccamping ordinance\u201d within the city that basically makes it illegal for anyone outside to cover themselves with a newspaper or blanket in cold or otherwise inclement weather.<\/p>\n It\u2019s ridiculous. \u00a0Before even getting into the impact this has on the homeless, let\u2019s just look at how this could impact an ordinary citizen. \u00a0Say you\u2019re caught outside in the rain with only a newspaper to keep you dry while you wait outside for a bus \u2013 technically that\u2019s illegal.<\/p>\n But of course the real people this ordinance will impact are the thousands of homeless people who are left freezing outside (Florida has had an abnormally cold winter this year) who have to make the conscious decision to break the law just to keep themselves warm.<\/p>\n Isn\u2019t it hard enough just being homeless? \u00a0Do we really need to make their lives even more difficult? \u00a0Hell, isn\u2019t this flat-out inhumane? \u00a0To tell someone who has nowhere to go, no home to keep warm in, that they\u2019ll be breaking the law if they dare try to shield themselves from freezing temperatures and high winds \u2013 it\u2019s reprehensible.<\/p>\n Every person who\u2019s homeless has their own unique story as to why they\u2019re in their current situation. \u00a0Again, some are there because of their own volition and choices in life. \u00a0But many suffer the plight of homelessness due to circumstances beyond their control. \u00a0And let us not forget that many of these individuals are war veterans suffering from PTSD or people who were born with other mental illnesses that (since birth) have prevented them from ever standing a chance at assimilating into society.<\/p>\n But this isn\u2019t about judging why someone is homeless. \u00a0This is about common sense and basic human decency to treat some of those who are most vulnerable in our society with at least a shred of compassion.<\/p>\n
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\nThe \u201ccamping\u201d ordinance was passed by the City Council during the summer of 2013, along with a series of related ordinances relating to the homeless. The following Council members supported the\u00a0controversial homeless ordinance(s): P.C. Wu, Andy Terhaar, Larry B. Johnson, Brian Spencer, Jewel Cannada-Wynn, Megan B. Pratt. These council members opposed the ordinance(s): Sherri F. Myers, Charles Bare, Gerald Wingate.<\/p>\n
\nWHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Pensacola, Florida hereby finds that in order to provide for, secure and promote the aesthetics, sanitation, public health, and safety of its citizens, it is necessary and in the public interest to adopt an Ordinance prohibiting in part and regulating the conduct of camping on public property, as defined, within the city limits.<\/p>\n
\n(1)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 For purposes of this section \u201ccamping\u201d is defined as:<\/strong>
\n(a)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cooking over an open flame or fire out-of-doors; or
\n(b)\u00a0\u00a0 Bathing in public for purposes of personal hygiene; or
\n(c)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Sleeping out-of-doors under one of the following circumstances:
\n(i)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Adjacent to or inside a tent or sleeping bag, or<\/strong><\/em>
\n(ii)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Atop and\/or covered by materials such as a bedroll, cardboard, newspapers, or<\/strong><\/em>
\n(iii)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Inside some form of temporary shelter<\/strong><\/em>
\n(2)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Camping is prohibited on all public property<\/strong><\/em>, except as may be specifically authorized by the appropriate governmental authority.
\n(3)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Camping is prohibited on all property in the City used for residential purposes<\/strong><\/em>; provided, however that camping is permitted on such property with permission and consent of the property owner.
\n(4)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 An individual in violation of this ordinance, who has no private shelter, shall be advised of available shelter in the City of Pensacola or Escambia County, in addition to any penalties of law.<\/p>\n<\/h1>\n
Florida Ordinance Makes it Illegal for Homeless to Use Blankets to Protect Themselves from Weather<\/h1>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\n
\nThis is especially true when I encounter a homeless person. \u00a0Granted some homeless are in their situation in life due to their own decisions, but many aren\u2019t. \u00a0And like most things in life, once you dig yourself into that kind of a \u201cpoverty hole,\u201d it\u2019s really hard to get yourself out of it.<\/p>\n
\nBut that\u2019s exactly what\u2019s happening in Pensacola, Florida<\/a>.<\/p>\n