In the race for governor in West Virginia, candidates appear to have different views on how the government should respond to homelessness.
The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that laws prohibiting homeless people from sleeping outdoors do not violate the Constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment, even if no shelter space is available.
Homeless advocates say the ruling could lead more states and cities to criminalize homelessness by enacting camping restrictions. California Governor Gavin Newsom has ordered state authorities The Associated Press reported that homeless camps must be removed from state parks, beaches, government buildings, highways and the areas in between.
In West Virginia, a Morgantown city councilor has proposed that the city expand its camping ban.
At national level An estimated more than 650,000 are homeless in the United States, more than at any time since the country began counting individual data in 2007, the Associated Press reported.
In West Virginia, the Department of Human Services recently released a $373,000 program. Study on homelessnessSenate Bill 239, passed during the 2023 legislative session, required that the study be completed and submitted to lawmakers for consideration of legislation regarding the state’s homeless population.
When asked if he would sign a bill banning public camping nationwide if it landed on his desk, Democratic candidate Steve Williams, mayor of Huntington, said he believes the causes of homelessness need to be addressed, not just the symptoms.
“While I understand concerns about public safety and the use of public spaces, a statewide ban on public camping without providing adequate shelter and support services would only criminalize our most vulnerable citizens,” Williams said in an emailed statement. “I would focus on expanding affordable housing, improving access to mental health and addiction services, and creating comprehensive programs to help people escape homelessness.”
“Addressing the problem of homelessness requires compassion, support and real solutions, not punitive measures,” he said.
The city of Huntington has a camping ban in place. Between April and mid-July, Huntington police issued nine citations to homeless people for loitering, camping or trespassing, according to the city’s response to a Freedom of Information Act request.
The campaign team of Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, the state’s Republican gubernatorial candidate, did not respond to emails asking whether Morrisey would support a statewide camping ban.
But Morrisey, as Attorney General of the state, signed a Amicus Curiae Brief on Behalf of Grants Passthe Oregon city that was at the center of the Supreme Court ruling that passed laws banning people from sleeping in public.
In their court filings, the two dozen states argue that they are responsible for protecting the health and safety of all their citizens, whether homeless or not, but that the measures should not be the responsibility of the federal governments.
“[States] Sovereign responsibilities include defining crimes and enforcing a criminal code within their borders,” they argue. “They don’t always agree with other states’ policies on homelessness, let alone the broader policies other states pursue in their criminal codes. But they all agree that those decisions are theirs – not the federal government, and certainly not the federal courts.”
In an earlier statement to West Virginia Watch on the amicus curiae brief, Morrisey said: local and state governments should have the opportunity to choose the solutions that work best for them.
“Instead, as we argued in our amicus curiae brief, decisions like Grants Pass effectively turn federal courts into homeless czars, stripping states of their traditional authority over criminal law and making the problem worse,” he said in the statement. “As the brief said, that is the wrong approach – this problem is a matter of local concern.”
