Editor,
Here we go again. Crusaders at the elite mega law firm Paul Hastings, caped as the ACLU, have our town in their crosshairs with a freshly filed lawsuit (“ACLU Again Target’s City’s Homeless Policies,” August 28).
We elect our town leaders to protect our quality of life and to regulate public health and safety of all, including visitors of every stripe. There is nothing in our local ordinances that “discriminates against, criminalizes, and endangers disabled, homeless persons.” Those ordinances apply to anyone who violates them. Why should the homeless be exempt from their enforcement?
Similarly, there is no “civil right” to sleep anywhere one wants and we have no obligation to house everyone who wants to sleep here.
Our town did not force homeless men and women to come; they came of their own volition. Hence, they bear some responsibility for their plight. Moreover, forcing our town to provide “permanent supportive housing” would do nothing to combat the complex roots of homelessness.
If condescending ACLU lawyers care so much about the homeless, perhaps they could open their own homes to them for sleeping. And it would save our town the time and trouble of defending yet another nuisance lawsuit.
Joan Mounteer, Laguna Beach
