Hasta La Vista, A.B. 2706, Legal Protections for the Homeless

In 1976, the Ralph Civil Rights Act, named after civil rights activist Ralph David Abernathy, was passed in California. The bill tries to guarantee any state resident freedom from violence or intimidation based on personal characteristics including race, gender or political affiliation.

Decades earlier, Abernathy became the student body president of what is now Alabama State University while earning a degree in mathematics. In 1955, he organized with his close friend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. the Montgomery Bus Boycott and in doing so essentially co-founded the American civil rights movement.

Abernathy shared a motel room with King on April 3, 1968, the night before King was assassinated, and introduced him to a gathered crowd on the 4th, when King began his last speech by saying, "Ralph Abernathy is the best friend I have in the world."

After King's death, Abernathy expanded his struggle, fighting for poor blacks, Latinos, whites and Native Americans, leading the Poor People's Campaign in Washington, D.C. He strove to raise our moral awareness of the needs of our "most oppressed and poverty-stricken citizens."

In February of this year California Assemblywoman Bonnie Lowenthal introduced into the state legislature A.B. 2706. The bill sought to expand the Ralph Act to grant the homeless the right to be free from violence based on their inability to afford or maintain a home. Lowenthal, commenting on the bill, wrote, "The perpetrators may perceive the homeless as easy defenseless targets. They may see the homeless as second-class citizens, unworthy of respect or mercy. These criminals may prey on the homeless because they know the likelihood of suffering legal consequences from their actions is not as high as it would be if they assaulted another member of the community."

Lowenthal cited studies of recent increases in violence against the homeless, such as the highest murder rate in the last decade. The bill made its way through the appropriate committees from February until May, when it was read in the state Senate for the first time. It continued through the legislative process, amendments and re-readings. The Appropriations committee found it a "minor and absorbable workload increase."

On September 8, 2010 at 2:30 in the afternoon it was passed on to the Governor's desk, where it sat for 21 days. Oblivious to the studies and motives cited by Lowenthal, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger finally wrote, "it is unclear whether the homeless are targeted for violence because they are homeless ... Furthermore, poverty is not a suspect classification." Negating the view of the Appropriations committee, he wrote that the inclusion of the homeless in the legal protections of the freedom from targeted violence "could result in legal challenges and increased court costs."

On September 29, Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed A.B. 2706.

It has been said that Abernathy's father, a gentle man, told his son often and early, "If you see a good fight, get in it and fight to win it." Get in this fight by telling Gov. Schwarzenegger to reconsider and pass A.B. 2706 to protect California's most vulnerable citizens.

Photo credit: schumachergirl1956