California’s governor signed in a “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” meets “The Fisher King” Bill on Tuesday October 10th. A sweeping blow to the strengthening population of homeless littering the streets, swamps and alleyways of California. Assuming that the majority of homelessness is caused by drug addiction and mental health disorders, and the only reason people would choose to live in the middle of a busy San Francisco or Humboldt street is simply due to the fact that they’ve lost their mind, then this bill will solve all of the homeless issues in California.
Senate Bill 43 reforms the current Lanterman-Petris-Short aspect of the CARE act. In short the Lanterman-Petris-Short act was a barrier in involuntary psychiatric treatments of individuals refusing help. An inconvenient civil right that protected individuals who didn’t want mental health or addiction services because, well, because this is still America, no matter how sick you are; But, now SB 43 designates the court conservatorship to decide the treatment needs of homeless individuals who struggle with addiction and mental health disorders if it is proven that they are incapable of providing basic needs for themselves and or mentally incompetent.
Homelessness Now Illegal in California By a Loophole
The Bill goes on in legal rhetoric that makes homelessness a crime, either that or the mental health issues resulting in homelessness are a crime. The bill makes amendments to due process and hearsay evidence. Hospital records and expert witnesses can now testify to how mentally competent you are or your competency in providing yourself with basic needs. The lack thereof (a person living on the street) is evidence to a person’s inability to live the standard California life. The current definition of the California standard of living was not included in the Bill, we looked; because, who knows, in a few years not having a two storied home with a pool and sauna may be a crime. At any rate, if you’re homeless in California, and a nuisance, you’ll be carted off to appear before a judge, probably thrown into a paddy wagon and placed in the care of a facility. I guess we’ll worry about rising cost of living, the broken mental health care system, lack of sufficient services and funding for impoverished families later, that’ll all be worked out with a prescription and therapy, I’m sure.
Not an actual News Media post/For entertainment purposes only
