This decision follows a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June, which determined that local governments can enact ordinances with civil or criminal penalties for camping on public land without violating the rights of homeless people. Since then, four cities in West Virginia have implemented similar camping bans to reduce homelessness on public property.
Leslie Nash, an attorney from Mountain State Justice, a non-profit legal firm, argues that these ordinances criminalize poverty without addressing the root causes of homelessness.
She explained that people often end up sleeping outside because they have no other options, which may be due to factors like disability, mental health issues, addiction, or fleeing abuse.
Nash emphasized that punishing people who are homeless with fines or criminal records only makes their situation worse.
Bluefield becomes the fourth city in the state this year to adopt a camping ban, joining Clarksburg, Morgantown, and Princeton. A copy of the ordinance was not available for publication, and the video recording of the meeting where the ban was approved lost audio for about ten minutes.