Boise’s fight to ban public camping by the city’s homeless population is gaining a lot of allies. Several cities, counties and others are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the case.
Earlier this year, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said Boise’s ordinance that bans homeless people from sleeping outside constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.
That’s because some of the city’s homeless shelters bar people from sleeping there if they don’t enroll in their religious classes within a certain period of time.
Cities and counties from across the western U.S. have sided with Boise, including many in California.
They say the 9th Circuit’s ruling hamstrings their ability to keep their communities safe and clean.
A brief filed by the attorneys general of Idaho, Alaska, Indiana, Louisiana, Nebraska, South Dakota and Texas argue it also undercuts their 10th Amendment rights to establish their own laws.
The Supreme Court will reconvene Tuesday and will likely make a decision whether or not to take up the case later this year.
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