Washington D.C. has decriminalized jumping fares. It is an okay theft since fares are only $2.
The Council overwhelmingly voted 11 to 2 to on Tuesday to override a veto by Mayor Muriel Bowser who argued against the bill which would no longer hold fare evasion on the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority system as a criminal offense, according to The Washington Post.
THE MAYOR IS ACCUSED OF INFLAMMATORY RHETORIC BY THE ACLU
Mayor Browser said that “lawlessness begets lawlessness,” in an effort to keep the law in place.
When no one pays the fares, the taxpayers will bear the burden of costs.
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“With this vote, the Council has signaled that it will no longer tolerate the fundamental injustice of the current law, which punishes fare evasion with risk of arrest and jail for as little as a $2 fare,” Nassim Moshiree, policy director for the American Civil Liberties Union of the District of Columbia, said.
“We are especially grateful the Council has seen through the inflammatory rhetoric and fearmongering by Mayor Bowser and [Metro], and has chosen fairness and equity for all D.C. residents,” Moshiree added.
Ahead of the vote, Councilmember Robert White likened the mayor’s “lawlessness” argument to “Ronald Regan’s use of the term ‘welfare queen’ to garner support for welfare reform or Donald Trump’s claim that Mexican immigrants are rapists.”
The mayor has expressed concern that decriminalization would worsen Metro’s estimated $25 million to $50 million per year losses due to fare evasion.
WMATA, in a news release supporting Bowser’s veto, claims that decriminalization would lead to more assaults on bus operators and station managers. They believe that it puts the burden on their staff when tension increases between paying and non-paying passengers.
They will also be charged with trying to get people to pay.
The ACLU is a wholly unAmerican organization committed to the destruction of the traditional USA. I just thought I should add that.
Today I voted to uphold fare evasion decriminalization. The more we commit to using the lens of race equity in all we do in government, the sooner we will be able to rectify the real crime here, which is perpetuating racist government systems in our own government. #ItsNotFare pic.twitter.com/LBiky8z5eF
— Brianne K. Nadeau (@BrianneKNadeau) January 22, 2019
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