All Salon

On Dec. 9, the city of Honolulu approved a sweeping anti-homeless ordinance that the local ACLU testified against as being “a particularly egregious attack on the homeless.” The new law was used to arrest Occupy Honolulu members in late December and to clear out their encampment in early February, though organizers report that they are still camping in a park overnight and putting away their tents every morning.

In Charlotte, as a welcoming gift for this year’s Democratic National Convention, the City Council passed an ordinance on Jan. 24 banning camping on city property, prohibiting items such as glass bottles, sparklers, police scanners, scarves, backpacks, duffel bags and coolers within the boundaries of an “extraordinary event,” and criminalizing the use as a “projectile” of “animal parts or fluids, manure, urine, feces or other organic waste by-products.” Less than a week after the anti-camping ordinance passed, police busted up the Occupy Charlotte encampment on the Old City Hall grounds. (No word if the police have nabbed any feces flingers yet.)

As for Boise and Nashville, both the Idaho and Tennessee legislatures are set to enact their anti-Occupy bills by wide margins, but occupiers are hoping they can convince a court to block or overturn the laws because they are arbitrary. In Idaho’s case the punishment for camping only amounts to an infraction, a non-arrestable offense, while in Tennessee those in violation could be jailed for up to 364 days and fined $2,500.

 The camp was set up on Nov. 5, and when I visited weeks later the organization was impressive and the lack of police surprising. It included tents serving as a kitchen, dining area, a free clothing store, arts and crafts, childcare, medical care, psychological and spiritual counseling and even a workers center.

One factor in Occupy Boise’s careful planning, explains Walker, is the presence of older members such as himself and his wife, Cyndi Tiferet. “We tend to have more patience,” he says. “There are a myriad of tools at our disposal, and we’ve been waiting for a movement like this for a long time, so we are ready to do it for the long haul.” Occupy Boise has been careful to stay within the legal boundaries and has had only a handful of problems with substance abuse or violence that have marred other occupations. When I spoke to Tiferet on the courthouse grounds, she said their legal status kept relations cordial with the police who were maintaining a low-key presence.

As evidence for Occupy Boise’s neighborly presence, Walker pointed me to a letter from Boise Chief of Police Michael Masterson, dated Jan. 31, commending the occupiers for conducting “themselves in a civically responsible (law abiding) and peaceful manner. We have found our ongoing dialogue to be helpful, constructive and respectful.”

He wasn’t just delivering warm tidings, however. Masterson wrote that because “the State of Idaho may very soon enact legislation that prohibits camping on state property … we anticipate that it may ultimately impact our future relationship.” What he wanted was for the occupiers to clean up the site and skedaddle “prior to any enforcement action.”

Masterson was referring to a bill introduced at the beginning of the 2012 Idaho legislative session with the sole purpose of banning camping on state property. The bill’s legislative intent is “to regulate the use of the grounds of the Capitol Mall and other state-owned and leased grounds and facilities in order to prevent the unauthorized use of these grounds and facilities as a temporary or permanent place for camping, lodging or living accommodations.”

The superfluous nature of the bill is not lost on observers. It’s a case, as the Idaho Statesman puts it, of “trying to solve a problem that doesn’t exist. … As a response to Occupy Boise, this bill makes its sponsors look like they are out to quash public protest.”

Because the bill singles out one group, it may backfire. Walker asserts, “The legislation is weak on due process grounds. The intention is to put an end to our vigil, which is protected freedom of speech. It is an abridgement of our first amendment rights.” The bill is designated as an emergency, meaning it will go into effect once it is signed into law instead of the state’s normal process of enacting new laws on July 1.

Ironically, the bill has been a boon to Occupy Boise. Walker says, “If this legislation had not cropped up we may have ended the camp already. But it gave us precisely what we wanted, the political expression.” Rather than diverting their energy, says Walker, “It’s been a huge favor because the media attention has been incredible. It has given us the bully pulpit … The letters to the editor and comments on articles about the proposed legislation have shifted markedly in our favor. It’s gone from people griping about damage to the grass to saying you need to listen to these people.”

Occupy Boise has mobilized up to 60 people to attend various legislative committee hearings on the bill, which Walker says has been an empowering experience. “I had never testified before the legislature and here I am doing it. People from the camp are showing up and testifying in House and Senate Committee hearings. People who are homeless or who have come out of prison with no training or resources are coming into the Capitol, standing before their senator or sepresentative and having their say.”

Even though the anti-camping bill passed the Idaho House by a 53 to 16 margin (and is now before the state Senate), the occupiers’ regular and, by all accounts, respectful presence in the legislature won them the support of the entire Democratic caucus plus three Republicans. Not all legislators see it that way. The House speaker has ordered the building to be locked down, which is designed to be open to the public. The body has been prohibiting signs and placards in the chambers, and on one occasion asked a dozen occupiers to remove American flags pinned to their clothing.

Walker says, “In more than 120 years in the state of Idaho the Legislature has never felt a need to do that before. Plus the high level of security they are pouring into the statehouse has provoked comments to the legislators like, ‘What are you afraid of? They are doing exactly what you want them to do.’”

As for next steps, if the bill passes as an emergency measure then Occupy Boise will almost certainly fight it in court. Walker says, “If we don’t have to decamp until July, then it’s up to the general assembly to decide if we should stay or not. My opinion is we need to go with what’s effective and focus on our goals.”

 Safety in Nashville

Gov. Bill Haslam’s administration wasn’t too happy about that. So it secretly drafted a nighttime curfew on the plaza, and hours after unveiling it on Oct. 27 began hauling away members of Occupy Nashville and their gear. The problem was, in trying to criminalize Occupy Nashville Haslam was acting illegally. The state arrested more occupiers the following night, but night court Judge Tom Nelson refused both times to keep the protesters jailed because “I can find no authority anywhere for anyone to authorize a curfew anywhere on Legislative Plaza.”

Days later Federal District Court Judge Aleta Trauger issued a temporary restraining order on the new policy and observed, “I can’t think of any more quintessential public forum than the Legislative Plaza.” Trauger added that the state was at fault for exercising “clear prior restraint of free speech,” and two weeks later issued a preliminary injunction on the policy.

Notching a victory against governmental abuse of power was a shot in the arm for the Nashville group. But the preliminary injunction noted the state could still enact new laws regarding the use of the public area, while Occupy Nashville and others could likewise challenge those rules.

According to Michael Custer, the occupation has stabilized at a few dozen regulars while the state has pursued an underhanded strategy to chip away at its support while preparing to legislate it away. As in Boise, police have been largely absent from the Legislative Plaza, but in Nashville’s case that’s a problem.

Custer explains that “unsavory vagrants” are the issue. “We have a pretty small group and, well, we’re easily intimidated.  So we had to call the city police many times to get violent people removed from the camp.” Calling the police was a difficult decision for occupiers, says Custer. “We do band together and try to chase off the violent people. We will call the police when violence is happening on the plaza, and it hurts to do it, but we’re not going to let the violence happen.”

Now, says Custer, the police are “using the injunction that we have against them to justify why they’re not there.” When they call to file a complaint the police retort, “Yeah, well, we can’t tell you apart. Y’all look the same to us!” He adds that they have informed the state “many times” of their code of conduct against drinking on the plaza, possession of drugs, sexual assault or harassment or violence.

At this point the damage is done. Custer says some media stake out the site looking for footage of public urination or drug use that then shows up on the nightly news as the face of the movement. Over the last few months, Custer says, polling has shown public approval of Occupy Nashville drop from 70 percent to 30 percent.

It was during those judiciary committee hearings that the one-year jail time was added for anyone maintaining “living quarters on publicly owned property” where residency is not allowed. To get rid of the Occupy movement, the state is taking a sledgehammer approach by also effectively criminalizing homelessness.

Occupy Nashville is almost certain to challenge the law in court once it passes. Like their compatriots in Boise, they hope to block implementation of the law or even have it overturned. In a perverse manner, the laws are a sign of success of the Occupy movement. Novelist Arundhati Roy told me that she doesn’t think “the state will allow people to occupy a particular space unless it feels that allowing that will end up in a kind of complacency, and the effectiveness and urgency of the protest will be lost.”