We are not insensitive to the plight of the homeless. No one deserves to go to bed hungry or sleep in the cold. That is why we have homeless shelters and halfway houses – to help these folks get back on their feet.

16th Street Mall, Denver

But apparently there is a group of lawmakers who believe we need to do more, and that the homeless need their very own Bill of Rights. That includes, but is not limited to, essentially free reign over our public spaces.

And this where we have to draw the line.

House Bill 1264, which is sponsored by Democrats Rep. Joe Salazer, Rep. Jovan Melton and Sen. John Kefalas, would allow the homeless “rest” in public spaces “without discrimination.” Based on our reading of the bill, that means a police officer couldn’t ask a homeless person sleeping on a park bench in the middle of the day to move along. And that’s just ridiculous.

Just because someone doesn’t have a home, doesn’t mean they get to use our public parks or the 16^th Street Mall any differently from the taxpayers who fund the upkeep of those spaces. And, this proposed Bill of Rights that gives them an absurd and unnecessary level of special treatment. It is liberalism run amok, and we hope it the bill dies in committee next week.