(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) Leftist activists protested a meeting at Los Angeles City Hall in an unsuccessful attempt to keep lawmakers from voting on a ban for homeless encampments near schools.
“We’ve taken over City Hall and are now rolling out the ‘People’s Public Comment.’ F&@k their bogus rules; this is what democracy looks like,” tweeted the Los Angeles Community Action Network, a group that bills itself as “human rights defenders and truth tellers.”
According to the Washington Examiner, the activists chanted about the city’s racism and waved posters in hopes that municipal code 41.18 be abolished.
We’ve taken over City Hall and are now rolling out the “People’s Public Comment.” F&@k their bogus rules; this is what democracy looks like. pic.twitter.com/9nf2fu53k3
— LA CAN (@LACANetwork) August 2, 2022
Municipal code 41.18 makes it illegal for a person to sit, lie or sleep near a small group of schools and daycare facilities.
After an hour of listening to public comments, the City Council voted 11 to 3 to expand the ordinance, making homeless encampments illegal throughout the entire city.
Additionally, homeless people will be prohibited from loitering within two feet of a fire hydrant, five feet of any entrance or exit and 10 feet of docks, driveways or bike paths.
Sheriff Alex Villanueva, who has been placed in charge of cleaning up homeless dens around the Vince boardwalk, reported that Los Angeles County has around 80,000 homeless people.
City officials closed the once-iconic Echo Park Lake last year, as it had become a sea of tents.
There were several reports of the homeless frightening nearby residents. They also polluted the water—more than 723 pounds of hazardous waste was cleaned from the area.
The closure was not without controversy, as many groups clashed with police arguing that homelessness is a right. The activists tried to prevent authorities from taking homeless people to shelters or rehousing them.
