Residents in major Democratic-run cities across the country have warned that homeless camps are on the rise as government policies do little to help and in some cases make matters worse.
The increasingly visible crisis has caused business owners to evacuate some areas, with some residents saying they feel less safe.
“When I was in Vietnam, I felt safer walking downtown Saigon than here in Portland,” said 83-year-old Vietnam veteran Armand Martens. told Fox 12, Oregon. About homeless camps rife with reports of drugs, theft and multiple fires. In one incident, a propane tank exploded, causing neighbors to run and scream in terror.
Real estate developer Dustin Michael Miller told ‘Fox & Friends First’ He said he was looking to move his business out of the city after his office was riddled with bullets in an incident he called “absolute insanity.”
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“It’s not uncommon for homeless people to run around town with axes and machetes, and it’s common for people to do nothing,” Miller said. “Even if you call the police, they rarely come.”
Miller’s retirement will add his company’s name to the growing company list of business Others have pulled out of Portland, including Cracker Barrel and Walmart.
Portland Census data show that the city of Portland lost 0.04% of its population despite 30 years of continuous growth.While the general population has fallen for the third year in a row, Mayor Ted Wheeler’s office Reported 50% increase Homelessness status from 2019 to 2022.
A common theme in reports of businesses and residents being terrorized by homeless encampments is that they are often helpless, and cities often end up at the expense of business owners. It has been accused of trying to make life easier for the homeless.
Critics say this is the case in Portland, where the Democratic-controlled city council responded last month to the growing homeless crisis by: suggestion law It would decriminalize public camps in a bill known as the Right to Rest Act.
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Additionally, the bill would have allowed homeless people to sue for $1,000 if they were harassed and ordered to relocate.The bill was finally shelved because of public protest.
Near Eugene, Oregon, homeless encampments have proved to be a burden to residents as well. This includes a recent “RV squatter” encampment where residents urged homeless people who were having sex in public to leave and attack them with metal.bat and spit blood on him.
Eugene police eventually cleared the encampment, but acknowledged that the problem, which has been at this particular location for two years, is “periodic.”
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In Seattle, about 300 miles north, residents say homeless camps are disrupting the lives of the homeless. go to church safelyand critics say the homeless are encouraged by the lack of penalties for crime.
Former Seattle firefighter Andy Pitman said, “The main reason is that things of this nature don’t have any impact in Seattle.” told ‘Fox & Friends First’ last year.
Austin, Texas, owner Pedro Morales recently became one of the latest victims of the city’s growing homelessness crisis. Homeless camp emerges In the alley next to the property he rents.
”When is it enough? Morales told Fox News Digital, detailing the lack of support received from the city and government. badly Shortage of manpower Police station. “When does harassment of another’s safety or well-being take effect?”
Los Angeles will have 69,144 people living on the streets in 2022, up 4.1% from 2020. Los Angeles business owners said they had similar problems, with no help from the city to deal with the homeless crisis.
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Homeless camps in Los Angeles continue to feature graphic scenes of injustice, including the Beverly Grove neighborhood, which recently housed a naked homeless woman. Found lounging in public on the sofa.
“It’s easier to send a rocket to the moon than to send a letter to the mayor’s office,” Los Angeles business owner George Fremm told Fox & Friends.
North of San Francisco, retailers are: run away in groups The homeless crisis and associated crime have led to shoplifting and violence against employees.
Despite the distress expressed by residents and businesses, San Francisco Democrats recently proposed legislation “It specifically prohibits guards from drawing weapons to protect property.”
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Curry Stimson, senior legal research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, told Fox News Digital that the root cause of the problem is the mass legalization and decriminalization of drugs.
”Without the move to legalize all drugs, and will continue to do so, homelessness and homelessness wouldn’t be as high as they are,” Stimson said.
”The more people who fall asleep, the more people are stoned, the more people are given drug free passes, the more people are unable to continue productive work. right. Stimson, along with Heritage Legal Fellow Zack Smith, co-authored “Rogue Prosecutor: How Radical Soros Lawyers Are Destroying American Communities,” due for publication in June. .
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Stimson told Fox News Digital: gave a keynote speech He filed a complaint with the International Association of Liability Professionals last June, where he said he was told by the world’s largest insurance conglomerate: ”They see a significant surge in claims by businesses in the city, along with Mr. Stimson’s work against progressive prosecutions funded by billionaire George Soros and the number of people suffering from the homeless problem. I wanted to know if there was a link between property damage in the city.
“Of course it’s relevant,” Stimson told Fox News Digital, adding that lawmakers could ease legal resistance from residents and businesses by easing penalties for drugs and other crimes while being protected by qualified immunity. He explained that it was getting harder to accept.
”They are creating a socialist nightmare scenario for everyone,” Stimson said. “In their world, they probably think it’s stupid. and the only recourse these companies have now is to exit, and they’re doing it collectively. ”
Andrew Mark Miller is a FOX News writer. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email your tips to [email protected].