Loitering laws across the country have been ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court for being "overly vague" and for not providing "clear, distinct guidelines for acceptable conduct."
This ordinance, proposed by Kenner District 4 Councilman George Branigan, is also vague and repulsive
The proposed ordinance says:
"(T)here is a public safety concern regarding individuals remaining in essentially
one (1) location for no obvious reason, to linger, to stay, to saunter, to dawdle, to stand around, or to delay an activity with aimless stops and pauses or to otherwise spend time idly or to be dilatory".
So, do I need an "obvious reason" to sit in my backyard and watch the sunset or is that "dawdling"?
I know, that's a poor analogy.
The ordinance does however seek to stop anyone from "dawdling" in public places including restaurants (hurry up and chug that wine or you could be cited for "dawdling"); stores (I'm going to start citing folks who "dawdle" at Wal-Mart and visit with folks instead of getting their groceries and heading straight to the checkout); and public places like parks (no more hanging out at City Park reading a book and watching the ducks for you, young man).
Branigan's ordinance says that people can't "dawdle" on public sidewalks. So the next time that you and your neighbor want to have a chat on a sidewalk, make sure one of your kids is on the corner acting as a lookout for KPD. You never know...
In addition, several residents complained about the ordinance, which was up for First Reading at the last council meeting, because it was posted on the Council Agenda by caption only - meaning the ordinance hadn't even been written before the Council Agenda's deadline.
While the City Attorney's office said it was permissible and not illegal to put forth an ordinance by caption only, as we've shown several times including with former Kenner Mayor Mike Yenni's sexting with a high school boy, just because it may not be technically illegal that certainly doesn't make it right.
By Charter, ordinances are introduced at First Reading giving citizens time before the First Reading and again before the Second Reading, to know what laws the Council is trying to implement. At the Second Reading, there is an opportunity for public comment before the Council votes on any proposed laws.
But, even more troubling than the possibility of an unconstitutional, questionably introduced law (that ironically, says law enforcement can cite you if you disobey their command to move on - but doesn't cite the punishment - a fine? Jail?) was Councilman Branigan's bizarre rationale for even introducing the law.
Evidently, Councilman Branigan, whose District includes the North Kenner Public Library, is concerned about the safety of residents since there happen to be some homeless people temporarily staying outside the library and they occasionally use the library's restrooms.
"There are homeless people living outside the library, which is a dangerous situation. During the day, they were going into the library and the poor people hadn't had baths or showers, and they stunk, obviously."
Obviously.
I could be wrong but last time I looked, there wasn't a smell test for entry to the library - or the Kenner City Council Chambers.
Not content to stop there, Councilman Branigan continued:
"And when they went into the library they were using the bathroom in the library to wash their clothes and clean themselves off."
The shock and horror! Homeless people actually trying to wash themselves.
I'm sure that the Kenner Police Department has far more important things to do than break down public restroom doors, frisk and handcuff homeless people using a public restroom sink to wash their face and brush their teeth, and haul them off to jail or fining them.
And, how exactly does Councilman Branigan think that a homeless person is going to pay a fine?
A defiant Councilman Branigan then went into a rambling speech about how the library is next to a school and a walking track at a playground and the homeless people using the library restrooms were a "safety" concern.
"My concern was for the children at that school and for the people on the track. If I would have waited two weeks (to properly introduce the ordinance) and some child got abducted or some person got attacked, I would have been really aggravated with myself for not taking a stand."
Please, stop the drama. The Academy Awards aren't for months.
Has there been a child abducted in Kenner by a homeless person recently? A person attacked by a homeless person? Have there even been any attempts or threats made against children or adults from homeless people using the public restroom at the library?
If there is a real safety issue with homeless people at the library, shouldn't the library or the School Board hire a security guard or off-duty KPD officer? The fact that the library and the School Board havn't done this should tell Councilman Branigan that "safety" isn't the real issue here.
I know, there's always a first time but there's been several recent reports of children abducted and attempted abductions from stores like Dollar Tree, Family Dollar and others. Thankfully, none have occurred in Kenner. Will Councilman Branigan propose an ordinance to ban those stores next?
It's for the safety of the children, right?
As a human being (and, yes, I checked before I wrote that), I am repulsed by Councilman Branigan's comments.
As a citizen of Kenner, I am outraged, not just by his lack of sensitivity and compassion, but also the fact that this law doesn't fix the problem, and, as an elected official, shouldn't he try to fix the real problem, or, at least, identify it?
If the real problem is homeless people, what does this ordinance do to fix THAT problem? Does Kenner have a homeless shelter where people can go? Does the City have programs to help the homeless gain employment, transition to permanent housing, and move back into society?
What is sad is, there have been homeless people in Kenner for years, whether they are Veterans who have had difficulty transitioning back to society, the mentally ill, or folks who have not fared well with the new economy.
There was a mentally ill woman that hung out by the old Rite Aid at 33rd and Williams for some time. I gave her food from the Taco Bell there several times. She never tried to abduct me (although she did complain once about my choice of tacos).
While homelessness is an emergency, it's not an emergency because a child "may be abducted" or because some homeless folks use a public restroom to wash themselves off. I've seen people wash themselves off in public restrooms in businesses and highway rest areas for decades. That isn't a crime.
No, this is only an "emergency" because a Councilman was told about the issue. There are no Kenner Police incident reports regarding homeless people at the library. Safety and possible abductions or crimes is a false narrative.
Homelessness, though, is a problem.
Here's an idea: instead of demonizing the homeless for using a public restroom, why doesn't the City of Kenner show compassion and actually try to help these folks live a decent life. I'm relatively certain that they don't wake up everyday and enjoy the fact that they need to go into a public restroom just to wash their face or clean their clothes.
I know there are homeless people who are beyond help and can't transition back to society. But, shouldn't we at least try?
Introducing a vague, possibly unconstitutional ordinance and possibly fining or incarcerating folks because they are homeless, shouldn't be the kind of message any city, let alone a City like Kenner which is already reeling from negative publicity, wants to send.
What's next? Driving homeless people to the Kenner City Limits and dropping them off to get them out of Kenner?
Don't laugh.
At least one Kenner City Councilman wants to make it illegal for homeless people to wash their faces in a public restroom.
Hopefully, the other 6 Council members and Mayor Zahn have more compassion, human decency and common sense than Councilman Branigan.
