Endorsement by Peace House of resistence against proposed Ashland City ordinance no. 3289 |
Peace House endorses this resistance to
the proposed renewal of Ashland City ordinance no. 3176 as ordinance no. 3189.
“The proposed ordinance will propel otherwise law-abiding community members into the criminal justice system. As applied, proposed ordinance no. 3176 does little to increase enforceability of (city code) violations, instead clogging the criminal justice system with unnecessary traffic and imposing financial penalties against poor people who cannot pay. This is a waste of public resources on a policy that will do nothing to address the root of the issue, which is the abundance of unhoused people in Ashland.” – Civil Liberties Defense Center
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Action Alert: Ashland’s Stop and ID law, Ordinance 3176 Up for Renewal as Ordinance 3189!
A year ago we showed up to oppose Ordinance 3176 and the community came out with us! Dozens of people testified against the flawed Ordinance citing impacts to LGBTQ+ individuals, BIPOC folks, and Unhoused individuals. The Council passed it 4-1.
It has never been used.
Now on the eve of this harmful ordinance’s expiration, the City is discussing passing another version of this flawed policy.
What does this Stop and ID Ordinance do? This ordinance threatens civil liberties in
Ashland by authorizing the Ashland Police to demand that a person provide their full
legal name and date of birth to police if any officer believes they have “probable cause”
that a city code has been violated. (This is different than committing a crime. City codes
could be smoking in a no-smoking area, giving out food in the Plaza, or sleeping in the
park, for example).
Who opposed ordinance 3176? Legal and civil rights experts like the Oregon ACLU
and the Civil Liberties Defense Center, people of color, LGBTQ+ communtiy members,
immigrant rights organizations, organizations that represent workers such as the AFL-
CIO and SEIU, houseless community members, and people who work for economic
justice, racial justice, and criminal justice reform.
This ordinance especially puts people of color, LGBTQ folks, youth, and
houseless community members at greater risk of harassment and criminalization.
- Trans and gender non-conforming community members could be forced to out
themselves by giving their legal name, increasing the significant risks these community
members already face in our society - Those already being targeted and harassed by police such as people of color, the houseless community, and youth would have fewer ways to protect themselves, losing even the ability to not identify and potentially incriminate themselves
- If Oregon were to lose its sanctuary state status, this law would be another way to identify and deport undocumented members of our community.
People losing our right to remain silent when a crime has not been committed, but a city
code may have been violated, is a problem for many reasons. One reason is that
Ashland, like other cities in Oregon, has multiple city codes in effect which target the
homeless.
Extreme consequences: Failure to provide this information would lead to a misdemeanor charge, up to 30 days in jail, and a $1,250 fine, deepening the cycle of poverty and trauma for many already living on the edge and most likely to be targeted by police.
What does the City say about the need for this Stop and ID law?
“Proposed Ordinance NO 3189 is virtually identical to Ordinance No. 3176 as passed in
2019 with the exception of the date of repeal updated to December 31, 2021”
“Although no one was cited for violating AMC Chapter 10.56 during the past year, staff
feels it has value in motivating people to give peace officers necessary information for
citations and supports its reinstatement.”
Rally: Let’s Stop the Stop and ID Law
Join us Tuesday ahead of the possible first reading of Ordinance 3189
Wear a green shirt to show your opposition
What: Rally against Stop and ID ahead of the August 18th Ashland City Council Meeting
When: Tuesday, August 18th | Rally at 4:30 pm
Who: All of us – families welcome! Please wear a mask and observe social distancing.
Message the Ashland City Council
Send a message: You can email your testimony to: Public-testimony@ashland.or.us to share your thoughts on this harmful and unconstitutional ordinance. Please note that comments must be submitted by Monday, August 17th at 10:00 AM to be made available to the city council ahead of the first reading. An alternative email address (in case of bounce back) to the city council is council@ashland.or.us.
The Ashland City Council Meeting will be streamed live here. No in person meetings are being held and the council does not allow comment over zoom. Make sure to get you testimony in by Monday at 10:00 AM and reply to this email to let us know you emailed the council!
The Ashland City Council voted 4-1 to pass Ordinance 3176 last year, in spite of 50 community members including leaders of color, LGBTQ+ community members, those with lived experience of housing insecurity, and allies, testifying against it over 3 city council meetings.
What does this Stop and ID Ordinance do? This ordinance threatens civil liberties in Ashland by authorizing the Ashland Police to demand that a person provide their full legal name and date of birth to police if any officer believes they have “probable cause” that a city code has been violated (this is different than committing a crime, city codes could be smoking in a no smoking area, giving out food in the Plaza, or sleeping in the park, for example).
Who opposed ordinance 3176? Legal and civil rights experts like the Oregon ACLU and the Civil Liberties Defense Center, people of color, LGBTQ+ communtiy members, immigrant rights organizations, people who represent workers such as the AFL-CIO and SEIU, houseless community members, people who work for economic justice, racial justice, and criminal justice reform.
This ordinance especially puts people of color, LGBTQ folks, youth, and houseless community members at greater risk of harassment and criminalization.
- Trans and gender non-conforming community members could be forced to out themselves by giving their legal name, increasing the significant risks these community members already face in our society
- Those already being targeted and harassed by police such as people of color, the houseless community, and youth would have fewer ways to protect themselves, losing even the ability to not identify and potentially incriminate themselves
- If Oregon were to lose its sanctuary state status, this law would be another way to identify and deport our undocumented friends and neighbors.
People losing our right to remain silent when a crime has not been committed, but a city code may have been violated, is a problem for many reasons. One reason is that Ashland, like other cities in Oregon, has multiple city codes in effect which target the homeless.
Does Ashland use these laws? Yes. Reporting from the Mail Tribune in 2018 found that “Ashland in particular has a history of citing people for illegal camping, handing out 129 tickets in 2015, 145 in 2016 and more than 300 through October 2017.”
Hope to see you at the Rally!
-Team RAC
