A recent decision by the US Supreme Court now allows local governments to crack down on homelessness, but the New Orleans City Council apparently has no plans to use the tool.
Three of the councilmembers today are asking the entire council to vote to affirm that they do not want to arrest people for being homeless.
"BE IT RESOLVED that the New Orleans City Council hereby affirms its ongoing committment to ending homelessness, not through criminalization efforts that punish unhoused residents for sleeping in public," the proposed resolution reads.
Instead, the measure by Councilmembers Lesli Harris, Helana Moreno and JP Morrell says the homeless solution should be addressed differently.
"Through investing in proven solutions that both improve housing stability and preserve dignity and respect for all New Orleanians."
In June, the nation's highest court ruled that it is legal to ban people from sleeping and camping in public. The decision overturned lower court rulings that had stifled efforts across the country to remove homeless encampments across the country.
A new state law in Louisiana also now outlaws begging for money on public streets.
