Miami’s homeless, who since 1998 have benefitted from special life-sustaining privileges not afforded most residents, will lose some of those exceptions if a federal judge signs off on an agreement reached by the city of Miami and the American Civil Liberties Union.
No longer will the homeless be allowed to set fires in parks to cook, or to build make-shift tents to sleep on public property.
The homeless would still be allowed to sleep on sidewalks, but only if they don’t obstruct the right-of-way of pedestrians. They would still be permitted to be naked in public to cleanse themselves or go to the bathroom, but only out of sight of the general public, and not if they are within a quarter mile of a public restroom.