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Radio Atlantic

How Do You Solve a Problem Like Homelessness?

Radio Atlantic

The Atlantic

Politics, Society & Culture, News

4.3 • 2.3K Ratings

🗓️ 6 June 2024

⏱️ 26 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Later this summer, the Supreme Court will rule on City of Grants Pass v. Johnson, one of the most important cases on homelessness to come up in a long time. The court will rule on whether someone can be fined, jailed, or ticketed for sleeping or camping in a public space when they’re homeless and have nowhere else to go. We talk to Atlantic writer and Good on Paper host Jerusalem Demsas about the case and what it may or may not solve. Homelessness has exploded since the 1980s, mostly in cities where housing costs have gone up. Criminalizing—or not criminalizing—people sleeping in public does not change the fact that many people have no other option, and that people who do have places to sleep can’t help but notice their cities have a huge homelessness problem. Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/podsub. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

Hi all how we doing afternoon afternoon let's get this meeting meeting meeting

0:05.9

started when everyone's home when everyone's home ee work mode prioritizes your broadband for working from home, with faster speeds in more places than anyone else.

0:18.0

So, yeah, yeah, I've got you loud and clear, clear is about.

0:21.0

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0:24.0

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0:26.7

Work mode with EE Smart Hub Plus to verify see EE.

0:29.0

C EE. C EE. K. slash claims. Here is the basic American idea. If something is illegal, it has to be equally illegal for everyone. So sleeping. Can you arrest someone

0:47.8

for sleeping in a public space? Meaning, could city officials agree to arrest people who fall asleep in public

0:54.7

as long as they say the law applies to everyone equally in the spirit of fairness.

1:00.7

That's one important thing that the Supreme Court is trying to figure out this summer.

1:05.0

And the police officers testified that that means that if a

1:10.0

stargazer wants to take a blanket or a sleeping bag out at night to watch the stars

1:18.6

and falls asleep, you don't arrest them.

1:21.6

You don't arrest babies who have blankets over them.

1:25.0

You don't arrest people who are sleeping on the beach, as I tend to do, if I've been there a while.

1:32.0

You only arrest people who don't have a second

1:36.3

home, is that correct?

1:38.3

Well, who don't have a home.

1:40.8

So no, these laws are generally applicable. They apply to yeah. That's what you want to say give me one example

1:47.0

This is radio Atlantic. I'm Hunter Rosen and today we're talking about one of the most important

1:55.4

cases for the rights of the unhouse in a long time.

1:59.1

We'll hear arguments first this morning in case 23, 175, City of Grant's Pass versus Johnson, Ms

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