Marin County Town Pushing For California 'Homeless Bill Of Rights'
FAIRFAX (CBS SF) - A Marin County town is pushing the State Legislature to adopt a "Homeless Bill of Rights" similar to the one recently adopted in Rhode Island, according to San Anselmo-Fairfax Patch.
At a September 5th meeting, the Fairfax Town Council unanimously passed a resolution in favor of the Bill of Rights aimed at ensuring equal protections for people without a roof over their heads.
A staff report cites a "Moral Obligation" to ensure that homeless people are not discriminated against or stripped of their constitutional rights due to their homelessness.
The report says specifically that the resolution does not seek any additional rights for homeless individuals, but rather to prohibit "police, healthcare workers, landlords or employers from treating homeless people unfairly."
"The long road of justice arcs in our time to prohibit discrimination…Today we need to enact legislation to specifically identify homeless persons as having rights equal to those of us fortunate to live under a secure roof in a safe home," reads the report.
City officials offered a model of the proposed legislation, with language based on the Rhode Island legislation. In their report, city officials called on other cities in Marin County to join them in adopting resolutions.
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