We had heard polling showed that Denver’s Initiative 300 would fail mightily, but the returns thus far are impressively bad for the Bernie Sanders-inspired campaign that would erode private property rights. Currently, according to the Denver Post, the initiative is losing by nearly 70 points (84.39% no to 15.61% yes).
Supporters of the initiative claimed it would end the camping ban, but, oh, it was so, so much more. This intro to a guest column from the ACLU in the Denver Post says it all:
“Right now in Denver, people experiencing homelessness face a cruel trap: they can’t sleep on private property because that’s trespassing, and they can’t sleep on public property because of the Denver camping ban and other ordinances that criminalize homelessness. So where are they supposed to go?”
They are supposed to go to homeless shelters or somewhere they can get help. That’s the point and why so many were so against the ballot initiative. Proponents also claimed this was necessary to ignite a conversation about how we treat homelessness in Denver. Attempting to infringe on the rights of property owners is probably the worst way ever to start a conversation of any kind.
This was an ill-advised idea and only the leftist of left supported it. For chrissakes, not even the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, an advocacy group, supported this. It died a well-deserved death.