Restore the Right of Public Assembly in Santa Cruz City Parking lots
This means no napping or reading in your car, no resting while your other half shops, no sleeping off too much to drink. No associating with others on land we all collectively own. This stifles free speech and assembly rights and is unconstitutional in nature.
These types of laws lead to "No speech zones" with small inadequate "Free Speech Zones" nearby -- in a Country where Free Speech is supposed to be a basic right human right we all equally share.
There is a law for every possible criminal act that can take place in a parking lot. There is no crime wave in the lots. This law is meant to selectively target the poor and homeless.
When you remove a right from one class, you remove it from all.
We say in one voice, "No!" to the 15 minute panic law.
This may not be your city, but your city could be next. You may want to park here - without a 15 minute time limit.
The Entire Law can be found here. http://www.ci.santa-cruz.ca.us/council/ordinance/2007/17.pdf
Additionally you can help by contacting our City Council and showing your opposition to this law.
809 Center Street, Room 10
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
(831) 420-5020
e-mail: citycouncil@ci.santa-cruz.ca.us
This means no napping or reading in your car, no resting while your other half shops, no sleeping off too much to drink. No associating with others on land we all collectively own. This stifles free speech and assembly rights and is unconstitutional in nature.
These types of laws lead to "No speech zones" with small inadequate "Free Speech Zones" nearby -- in a Country where Free Speech is supposed to be a basic right human right we all equally share.
There is a law for every possible criminal act that can take place in a parking lot. There is no crime wave in the lots. This law is meant to selectively target the poor and homeless.
When you remove a right from one class, you remove it from all.
We say in one voice, "No!" to the 15 minute panic law.
This may not be your city, but your city could be next. You may want to park here - without a 15 minute time limit.
The Entire Law can be found here. http://www.ci.santa-cruz.ca.us/council/ordinance/2007/17.pdf
Additionally you can help by contacting our City Council and showing your opposition to this law.
809 Center Street, Room 10
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
(831) 420-5020
e-mail: citycouncil@ci.santa-cruz.ca.us
We demand the Santa Cruz City Council to retract this law, and restore the rights of all people to use the parking lots without a time limit. There is a law for anything that can happen in the lots, and the police can and do use them. This law is a waste of resources and time. This is a right we refuse to give up on land the residents of Santa Cruz collectivity own.
The City has wasted enough of our time and police resources and city money. Its time to stop, and the time is now.
Thank you for your support in restoring our basic right to assemble, associate and rest without a 15 minute time limit.
Sincerely,
The Petition Signers
|
Already a Care2 member? log in |
Remember Jesus was a homeless man. Would you have cited him and his disciples while he was delivering the sermon on the mount?
This law is written to bypass our constitution. Because there is already a law for any crime that could happen in a public parking lot. This law gives the police the right to approach, speak and cite people for doing nothing that is wrong by any other law. It will only be selectively enforced, which is unconstitutional. The law is a waste of resources and a rape of our rights on property we all own. Is our mayor on crack? I wish he would spend his time protecting and serving others besides downtown merchants. The dismal business downtown can be faulted by the City and how they transformed the mall after the quake. The way that downtown is laid out would make a perfect place for a walk through mall with no cars, trees and plants in the middle of the road adding a park like atmosphere.
I gave up on shopping downtown not due to the homeless or feeling unsafe in parking lots, i feel safer there than many other places. I stopped shopping because of the criminal laws being passed by a City Council that believes fear tactics will increase biz. I want my rights that are in the constitution, not laws designed to harass the poor and give us the perception of being safer. Do not let politicians decide what you fear. Poverty needs to be seen, or we will never deal with the root cause. The City Council just wants it to be as far from the eyes of a consumer as it can get. Ill drive anywhere but downtown to shop until these laws end. When benches are added not removed. When real advocates do work to help the homeless on the streets, not one who checks for warrants with the guise of being a service worker for the benefit of the poor. We are not as ignorant as the politicians believe we are.
Without having our basic human rights met and cared for, we as human beings are declining. We are declining in mental ability & compassion for ourselves and others. When we personally do not get the care we need, society as a whole dies.
No, it is not. We have the freedom of assembly. Unless there is concrete evidence that a crime is taking place, that right should not be taken away from the people who pay to put that government in place. America is supposed to be by the people for the people, but government is turning us into a dictatorship with the people being suppressed and oppressed.
"Only through our efforts, can we truly make a difference." -Kelsey Turk [www.myspace.com/kelseyturk]
What do you want these people to do? Such insensitivity to your fellow man shows a total lack of character and pollutes your karma. Try something different -- show that you have a heart.
I previously lived in Santa Cruz for several years and still drive a couple of hours to visit friends and family on occasion. It's not uncommon when I'm far from home like that to need to grab a bite to eat in my car, talk on my phone, nap, read or get in out of the rain. My car is my haven when I'm away from home. I am a law abiding person and usually see why laws have been enacted but this one not only seems unfairly punitive, it seems rediculous to use any of the city's stretched resources to enact and enforce it when there are so many more important issues to tackle.
it's obsurd and a violation of human rights.
I cannot understand how a city would ever collectively decide to target certain human beings for the way they live. As I understand this was a city council decision, it makes me question the ethics of the people WE voted into office. This law needs to be changed possibly along with the council members.
This law is unconstitutional as well as damaging to the Santa Cruz community. A police-state is not what the people want.
Enforcing existing laws against CRIMINAL activity helps everyone, including homeless people. Making otherwise peaceful activity criminal because there are some people you just don't want to look at ends up hurting everybody.
What, a man can't read a newspaper while his wife shops because god forbid a person your city can't find housing for might be sleeping in the next car? Instead of spending your money trying to enforce ridiculous laws, spend it on creating housing!
|
11:32 am PST, Feb 19,
Robert michael Andrews, Florida
public spaces are for gathering. Yhat was the original idea of the 'commons' in England. fifteen minutes seems rather short. maybe if the person were hanging around late at night, i could understand. Then again many homeless people have nowhere to go at all. |
This new law is ridiculous. Just another silly Santa Cruz way to keep the "riff-raff" out of downtown.
This is a waste of tax money. When there is so much complaining that there is not enough money for public services, it is a big waste of dollars to have this kind of harassment. Put your force into really keeping our streets safe....enforce traffic laws instead, so our children and other non-car users of the streets can safely get around.
Is this how taxes are wasted? A selictivly enforced law apaprently targeted towards drum circles, teenagers, and weary shoppers. I suppose a group of well-dressed loiters won't have to worry about moving along, but heaven forbid a college student runs into a friend whilst in a parking lot! Oh the chaos! Come on, City Council. Don't you have something better to do with your time (and our money) than draft ridiculous laws like this? It's pointless, restrictive, and downright embarassing that you consider parking lot loitering an important issue.
if you want my support do away with the 15 minute ban.
What inspired a law to enforce such a restrictive use of public space? Our land resources are scarce. Lets try to use them as efficiently as possible. Parking lots are a necessary evil to begin with. I understand the need to have a place to park our cars but lets try to use the space efficiently and not outlaw the ability to use this space for other activities as well. Hopefully we can work towards building cities designed with more pedestrian and public transportation in mind and empty the lots of cars. Freeing this space for the people to use.
There are many valid and necessary reasons to needing a place to park and be in your car. Having such options makes the city safer not less safe. Please rethink this legislation.
Is it for attacks on the poor like this in the city of Santa Cruz that humanity has struggled for centuries? It would take six planets to sustain humanity if all people on earth were to consume like Americans --yet "leaders"" of wealthy American communities like Santa Cruz now, since Reagan, work overtime at criminalizing the homeless: instead of realizing the poverty of their own greedy and wasteful consumption. When the leaders of Santa Cruz realize that embracing the poor --and transforming their community into a receiving one, basing it's policies on love of all, and sustainability for all; instead of engorgement for profit of the gobblers --then the city will have found humanity. Moreover, since WW II, America has become an ever increasing monster globally; and communities like Santa Cruz now need to wake up that this country's true global leaders will come from among those brave enough to start by refusing allow these kinds of attacks on the poor locally --for one single day more. Rise --and Carry On the Truth in Santa Cruz!
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/6/boycott-the-bahamas, rights also violated
This law is being selectively enforced. Why aren't all the loitering shoppers also being ticketed? hmmmmm.... power of the dollar! While I have seen drug deals go down in the other parking lots, the police only enforce this rule on the market drummers.
If this is the intent of the city council and Mayor Coonerty, then we need to vote someone else into office. If this was not the city council's intent, the law needs to be suspended until it is rewritten and approved by the voters (the people who actually USE the space).
We need more public space, not less. We have the right to be here.
|
9:27 pm PST, Feb 12,
Victoria Mary Stong / Community Activist, New York
We don't need a Police State. Protesting, Demonstrating and Rallying should always be protected. If it wasn't for these rights, many countries would not be as well off as they are! This is definitely unconstitutional and needs to be stopped now!It's a shame the government is making a business out of incarcerating all the people they can, but this is a new low. African-Americans are victimized by racism, prejudice and locked up in many cases while they are innocent and/or have many trumped up charges that they are not guilty of. The Police Dept.'s give the District Attorney's most of their cases so there is a major conflict of interest and therefore many innocent men and women are doing time. The real crime is that when they're young, they are refused help and then when they get older, they're LOCKED UP! Talk about adding insult to injury. The Government needs to create laws so people are not denied the help they need as children and teenagers and keep the money with services for them instead of the Prisons!!!!!!!!!!!!!~~~~~~~Respectfully and Sincerely, Ms. Victoria Mary Stong / Humanitarian Former 9/11 Responder & Ground Zero Volunteer Worker 9/11-11/10/01 and Civil Rights and Community Activist-Well Seasoned! |
If it is a public parking lot, then it is the right of the public to use it.
Rights are being eliminated as we speak. Allow us to live, breathe, sit, stand, distribute literature , learn, watch, think, feel, rest, help, and not be tortured for doing these things as if we are already in Guantanemo!1
