The Camping Ban, Occupy Denver, and the Politics of Free Speech
In the case of Occupy Denver, the camping ban’s restriction of public sheltering dovetailed with an attack on the political assembly rights of homeless people. Many homeless individuals participated in the Occupy Denver encampment which started in September, 2011. By January 2012, about 95% of those “camping” at the Occupy encampment at Civic Center Park, were unsheltered homeless people. Many homeless Occupy campers expressed that they joined the movement and the encampment because they identified with the political message calling for economic equality, and because the encampment provided a safe space to sleep, with blankets, tarps and community. To have a political voice and/or out of necessity, homeless people slept outside with the Occupy encampment throughout the winter of 2012— only dispersing when the camping ban went into effect. Here is how homeless respondents connected the camping ban to restriction of political protest in Denver. “The number one reason for the ban was Occupy Denver.” “They wanted to get rid of Occupy Denver. They wanted people to go away.” “It was a desperate response to the Occupy Movement. The city felt powerless to contain the masses of people using the right to gather and freedom of speech. .” “It was done for political reasons: control of the streets.” “It was done partly to hinder the Occupy Movement.” “It was done to attack the homeless and attack Occupy.” “To stop the Occupy Denver movement.” “The homeless became an excuse for attacking Occupy.” “It was done because of Occupy, but now because of that, the homeless are illegal.” “The Occupy people scared the police and the police didn’t have minds big enough to deal with the situation. So the only way they knew to respond was violence.”
The Denver Camping Ban
Mayor Hancock and other officials have often celebrated the ban as providing tools to eliminate overnight political protests such as Occupy Denver. The Colorado ACLU has argued that the ban is an attack on First Amendment rights to free speech and assembly, since it illegalizes political protests that might include outdoor shelter.45 Widespread and effective political protests such as the Poor People’s March on Washington (1960s), the anti-Vietnam encampments (1970s), anti-Apartheid encampments (1980s) and anti-Iraq war encampments (1990s & 2000s), would all arguably be illegal under Denver’s camping ban.
ACLU LETTER TO DENVER CITY COUNCIL 4/16/2012 “The ACLU of Colorado believes the Ordinance may violate the constitutional rights of persons who have no choice but to sleep outside, as well those protected by the First Amendment...The ACLU of Colorado is well aware of the frustration that Occupy Denver has caused the City and the nearby business community. However, Denver cannot adopt an ordinance that creates restrictive policies on speech just because it does not like how people are using a public space. …[Such action] violates the free speech rights of the occupy protestors.”v
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