Civil rights protesters planned a demonstration today outside Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s residence, demanding he veto revisions to the city’s municipal codes that make it easier
to seize and destroy homeless people’s belongings.
Los Angeles Community Action Network, the Downtown Women’s Actions say the recently approved ordinance is discriminatory and that compliance is impossible for homeless residents, people with disabilities, and street vendors.
Unless vetoed by Garcetti the ordinance will become law tomorrow, July 7th.
“These changes impact anyone resting their bag on the ground at a bus stop or someone with a small cart of goods to sell, but, primarily, they will cause unhoused individuals to be targeted by law enforcement simply because they do not have a home of their own to store their property,” said Cynthia Ruffin of the Downtown Women’s Action Coalition.
Garcetti announced last week he would not sign the ordinance, which can become law without his signature, and that he would block enforcement until the City Council eliminates the misdemeanor penalty for violations and removes medicines and documents from the list of items that can be seized.
In Venice, each Friday the city’s sanitation sweeps clear any belongings left along the Boardwalk. It’s a move civil rights groups and local Venice homeless say discriminates against the homeless population.
“The residents are unacquainted with the needs of the unhoused population and it’s just pure prejudiced” said Jarad Ben Noah, a local Venice man who had previously been homeless.
