Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry signed one of the cruelest anti-homeless bills in the country into law. HB 211 will make it a crime to sleep outside in Louisiana, punishing homeless people with extreme fines and jail, while also setting the stage for forced treatment and even forced labor.

Last week, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry signed one of the cruelest anti-homeless bills in the country into law. HB 211 will make it a crime to sleep outside in Louisiana, punishing homeless people with extreme fines and draconian jail sentences, while also setting the stage for forced treatment and even forced labor.

This bill did not come out of nowhere. Across the country, we’re seeing a coordinated effort – led by the Palantir-funded, billionaire-backed Cicero Institute and taken up by the Trump administration – to arrest and jail people simply because they can’t afford the rent. Cicero has praised and supported this horrific version of its copy-paste legislation, and Gov. Landry, a supporter of the president, has cited Trump’s anti-homeless policies to justify his support for this bill.

  • WatDabney@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    34·
    6 days ago

    forced labor.

    That’s the ultimate goal.

    Between privatized prisons and corporate slave labor, imprisoning people has become big business, with big bribes and kickbacks paid to cooperative politicians.

    It’s part of the step-by-step recreation of feudalism for the new generation of privileged nobility - you will be a serf, or you will go to the workhouse and be a slave.

  • Powderhorn@beehaw.orgEnglish
    12·
    6 days ago

    Much hinges on how the state defines “sleep” and “outside.” If a tent is included, hope no one wants to go camping anymore or have sleepovers in the back yard. Napping in a park for an hour in midafternoon? This seems horrifically overbroad given the law as described, and I’d assume anyone who can afford a lawyer will have the charges dismissed.