Boise, ID—Today at 12 noon a group of Boise residents will protest the Boise City Council’s renewed effort to pass a set of anti-homeless ordinances being considered at tonight’s Council meeting. Members of the faith, artist and homeless community will gather in front of City Hall to protest what appears to be an overreach of government.
Gayle Black, a former Boise homeless resident will be among the protesters who will share her personal experience and offer reasons for why the new ordinances only serves to create a “permanent class of homelessness in the city.”
She will also remind Council members that “to reach across the divide and offer a helping hand to those less fortunate, carries a compassionate message and gives those most vulnerable in our community hope that there is a better future.”
The proposed ordinances would prohibit all requests for donations in many places in the city, other than passive sign-holding. Street performers and charity fund drives downtown may disappear as a result of these ordinances.
The proposed ordinance would also prohibit sitting or lying on sidewalks, plazas, and other gathering places like the Grove. The only way Boise residents can enjoy this First Amendment activity is to obtain a permit from city hall.
WHAT: Peaceful protest of proposed anti-homeless ordinances by Boise City Council WHERE: Boise City Hall Plaza WHEN: Tuesday, July 30, 2013 at 12 noon MORE: Leo Morales, 208-860-0925 ###