Can the homeless find homes?
There is a new development in the controversial repeal of the Austin camping ban. On July 1st 2019 the city of Austin experimented with a new policy allowing Austin's homeless population to sit, lie down or camp without fear of being ticketed or jailed (Norwood). This new repeal gave the homeless a new opportunity to avoid tickets or jail time that was normally associated with finding a place to sleep. It also potentially allowed officers to give less tickets and find different ways to police and aid the homeless populace. While the repeal had support from Mayer Adler and Chief of Police Manly, Governor Abbott had strongly opposed the repeal (Norwood). Despite municipal unity moving forward on a less penalizing approach to the homeless population, Republican Greg Abbott argued against the repeal of any penalizing legislation. Typically a champion of small government, Governor Abbott was frequently vocal against Austin's municipal decisions, tweeting about h...