Homelessness: Do Americans have fundamental right to be housed?

In our society, people choose to be homeless for a variety of reasons. In California, one group is taking over vacant homes to squat, saying there is a constitutional right to shelter.

In the US Constitution, there’s no mention of a person’s legal right to shelter or living in a home. No court has ruled that a person has a legal right to permanent shelter; a federal 9th Circuit decision involving the city of Boise only pertains to a person’s right to sleep on sidewalks or in park areas if they have nowhere else to go.

In Washington state, there are people justifying the need to enforce unlawful retainers and illegal camping because of the necessity of sanitation and disease control. I agree with that, but this also has to be determined nationwide.

A court should decide whether the US constitution, or the constitution of any state, says a person has a legal right to housing.

This story was originally published January 28, 2020 at 1:31 PM with the headline "Homelessness: Do Americans have fundamental right to be housed?."