Oregon HB 3501 is Straight Up Communistic

by Mark Schwendau

The State of Oregon’s Democrats introduced a new bill in the legislature, the “Right to Rest Act.” In brief, House Bill 3501 would decriminalize camping in public places. It is no wonder the eastern half of the state wants to secede to become part of Idaho!

Under HB3501, homeless individuals can have “a privacy interest and a reasonable expectation of privacy in any property belonging to the person, regardless of whether the property is located in a public space.” This essentially grants the individual rights to treat public spaces like their own private residence “without discrimination and time limitations based on housing status.” The bill also allows homeless individuals to sue for up to $1,000 if swept, told to relocate, or otherwise “harassed” as per the bill.

If you take this bill singularly at face value, it sounds like a simple case of progressive liberal socialist insanity. But, if you couple it with Joe Biden’s open borders, who let over 5 million illegal aliens into the country with little to no vetting or oversight, this constitutes treason. It is a form of waiving our national sovereignty, and that is a violation of our law. It is aiding and abetting people in the commission of a crime.

Here are the essentials of the bill:

(1)

(a) Persons experiencing homelessness be permitted to use public spaces in the same manner as any other person without discrimination based on their housing status;

(b) A person experiencing homelessness has a privacy interest and a reasonable expectation of privacy in any property belonging to the person, regardless of whether the property is located in a public space; and

(c) Every person in this state, including persons experiencing homelessness, have the rights set forth in subsection (2) of this section to be exercised without being subject to harassment, citation or arrest by law enforcement officers, public or private security personnel or employees of local governments.

(2) Notwithstanding any other law or regulation of state government or local government, a person experiencing homelessness has the following rights:

(a) To use and move freely in public spaces without discrimination and time limitations that are based on housing status.

(b) To rest in public spaces and seek protection from adverse weather conditions that are unsuitable for human exposure in a manner that does not obstruct human or vehicle traffic.

(c) To eat, share, accept or give food in any public space in which having food is not prohibited.

(d) To pray, meditate, worship or practice religion in public spaces without discrimination based on housing status.

(e) To occupy a motor vehicle or a recreational vehicle provided that the vehicle is legally parked on public property or on private property with the permission of the private property owner.

(3) Subsection (2) of this section does not apply if the public space is closed to the general public or requires a fee for entry. When this subsection applies, and it is legal and reasonable to do so, law enforcement or local officials shall clearly designate and provide an appropriate alternative place for persons experiencing homelessness to rest without time limitations in the near vicinity.

(4) An affirmative defense is available to a person experiencing homelessness to a civil or criminal charge related to use of public spaces that the person was exercising the rights set forth in this section

… (12) In any action under subsection (1) of this section alleging a violation… the court may award, in addition to the relief authorized under subsection (1) of this section:

(a) Compensatory damages or $1,000 per violation, whichever is greater; and

(b) A civil penalty in the amount of $1,000.

The full text of the bill can be read HERE.

The bill is with the House Committee on Housing and Homelessness, with a public hearing scheduled for May 4.

You can voice your opposition to this new bill here.

Oregon’s Right to Rest Act was first introduced in 2021 but didn’t make it out of committee discussions.

In 2018, a federal appeals court in Portland ruled against Boise, Idaho, ruling that municipalities violate the Eighth Amendment when they criminally prosecute people who have no other choice but to sleep outside in public.

In 2022, a federal appeals court in San Francisco made a similar ruling against the town of Grants Pass, Oregon.

Should this bill become law, you can pretty well kiss your public streetscapes, parks, and forest preserves goodbye… all the things you, as an American taxpayer, worked to pay for in the first place!

This is the early onset of communism.

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Copyright © 2023 by Mark S. Schwendau

Mark S. Schwendau is a retired technology professor who has always had a sideline in news-editorial writing where his byline has been, “Bringing little known news to people who simply want to know the truth.”  He classifies himself as a Christian conservative who God cast to be a realist.  His website is IDrawIWrite.Tech.

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