Stop Criminalizing Poverty
On November 16, the San Leandro City Council is set to vote on changes to our municipal code “relating to standing or sitting on traffic medians or near curbs.” While the city has tried to present this as a change to increase traffic safety and relieve road congestin, the reality is that it is merely another attempt at anti-panhandling laws that criminalize poverty and infringe free speech. In fact, some members of the City Council said exactly as much at their September 8 meeting, specifically the mayor and vice mayor! You can look up the relevant information on their website at https://sanleandro.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=754137&GUID=35FDF636-2AE8-48FE-8AF2-E18471022DD3&Options=info|&Search= , beginning at Item 10.C. The older meeting records are available at https://sanleandro.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=754132&GUID=7A8CE643-C818-4D9B-AECE-55D23C7C71CC&Options=info|&Search= , beginning at Item 8.M. Notably, the Supreme Court ruled in Norton v.