Council President Nick Licata
LICATA URGES GREATER PROTECTION FOR HOMELESS
Committee passes law to provide protections for homeless persons from malicious harassment
SEATTLE - Council President Nick Licata is sponsoring changes to the current law on malicious harassment to provide greater protection for homeless people. Council President Licata said, “We’ve heard from homeless people and their advocates that violence against people living on the street is all too common an occurrence. The City must take a stand against this outrageous behavior.”
A report of the National Coalition for the Homeless found that between 1999 and 2002 Seattle ranked as the seventh most dangerous city for homeless people in the United States. Testimony from homeless and formerly homeless people at today’s meeting of the Public Safety, Governmental Relations, and Arts Committee illustrated the violence that homeless people encounter simply because they are without a place to live. The changes to the law passed unanimously out of Committee today and move onto the Full Council for consideration on December 10. Council President Licata said, “These changes will provide tough measures that demonstrate that the City will not tolerate this kind of behavior. It will send a very important message, and guarantee that the Seattle Police Department and the City Attorney have the tools necessary to hold criminals accountable for their actions.”
Link to Council Bill 116025
-30-
City Council
|
