GRANTS PASS, Ore. (NewsNation) — Like many cities across the U.S., residents in Grants Pass, Oregon, are split over how to deal with homelessness.
Now, their local fight has reached the U.S. Supreme Court.
In the case, Grants Pass v. Johnson, the nation’s highest court will hear arguments on whether the mountain city can issue both criminal and civil penalties on people who sleep and essentially live in a public park.
The established ordinance barrs camping on public property and prohibiting homeless people from using blankets, pillows and cardboard boxes while sleeping within city limits.
Inside Grants Pass, Oregon
The quiet town has a population of about 40,000 people in southern Oregon and the homeless population is about 600.
The region leans conservative, with many taxpayers unsupportive of funding a public shelter or conditions conducive to drawing unhoused people.
With tents regularly lining public parks, and many families afraid to use them now, Grants Pass moved to enforce its camping ban with tickets and fines.
The city’s homeless population sued the city, saying that criminalization of homelessness amounted to an Eighth Amendment constitutional right against cruel and unusual punishment.
They also argued that it violated the Excessive Fines Clause because Grants Pass has no low-barrier shelters.
Locals talk to NewsNation
Ronnie Nelson, a Grants Pass homeless resident, told NewsNation that if they are given two tickets at the same time, they get excluded from the park for 30 days.
When asked if he’d be able to pay the $500 fines, he chuckled.
“If I had $500, I wouldn’t be on the streets,” Nelson said.
Linda, a Grants Pass resident, said she feels bad for the homeless, but it doesn’t help that there are needles on the ground and the area’s a mess.
“It’s a mess. I wouldn’t take my grandchildren, or my nieces and nephews there,” Linda said.
Proponents argue camping bans incentivize people to take advantage of existing services, while critics say criminalization only complicates the situation and is not a solution to a growing national problem.
“It’s not about punishing the homeless people so much as protecting the parks and enforcing park rules,” Grants Pass Mayor Sara Bristol said on “The Hill on NewsNation.” “Certainly, I understand that the homeless population does need a place to go.”
Bristol noted the case had already been decided and appealed before she took office, saying she does not have the same opinions as previous city leadership.
“I do think we need to be able to have rules and enforce our rules in our parks,” Bristol said. “I think that we also need to have places for the homeless population to go where they can sleep. And I think the question is really who pays for that and who is responsible for making sure that happens.”
NewsNation’s Devan Markham and Aleksandra Bush contributed to this report.