ACLU sends Shawnee letter of warning: 'No sit, no lie' ordinance violates First Amendment

The Oklahoma Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union issued a letter to the city of Shawnee on Thursday, urging it to repeal a recently passed "No Sit, No Lie" ordinance, calling it unconstitutional.

The letter, shared to X, formerly Twitter, by the ACLU of Oklahoma is addressed to the city of Shawnee in the attention of the city manager, along with the six city commissioners, only one of whom voted against the passing of the ordinance. Shawnee Mayor Ed Bolt, who also voted for the ordinance, was not included among the addressees of the letter.

In the letter, the ACLU writes that the ordinance "is a violation of the First Amendment," and that all people "have the right to use traditional public spaces for speech," including "soliciting charitable funds."

The letter further states that "Shawnee cannot take the "extreme step" of closing off a traditional public forum, like sidewalks, to all speakers who choose to sit or lie down."

More: Shawnee ban on sleeping outdoors the latest effort to push homeless people away, critics say

The letter says it is "in the best interest of Shawnee and its residents to repeal the ordinance and avoid litigation," pointing to the more than $1 million bill for attorneys fees Oklahoma City taxpayers ended up footing after the city lost a federal lawsuit brought by the ACLU over a 2015 anti-panhandling ordinance.

Shawnee City Manager Andrea Weckmueller-Behringer confirmed that the city received the letter late Thursday and was working to look through all of the cited case law and draft a response to the ACLU.

What does the Shawnee 'No sit, no lie' ordinance say?

The Shawnee ordinance, set to go into effect Jan. 17, is restricted to the downtown area, bounded by Highland Street, Seventh Street, Harrison Street and Kickapoo Street. Based on a nearly identical ordinance out of Austin, Texas, it specifically prohibits "sitting, lying down, or placing items" on the sidewalk, as well as sleeping outside.

The ordinance does not apply to those experiencing medical emergencies, "participating or watching public events, using provided private or public seating, or in line for goods and services."

"The whole purpose of the ordinance that was approved by the city commission on Dec. 18 is really to promote downtown as a family-friendly public area. The city is trying to support tourism and businesses, and also provide for sidewalks, accessibility for individuals with disabilities," Weckmueller-Behringer said.

"In downtown Shawnee, we have some sidewalks where it is truly not possible to walk on the sidewalk at this point in time. So, yes, we understand that this is a dire need, and we need emergency shelter. We need emergency housing."

More: An Oklahoma city now requires a permit to feed homeless. Advocates say they're being 'punished'

How did Shawnee's homeless situation get to this point?

However, in a city that recently enacted another ordinance requiring a permit to feed the homeless, and with only one limited-access overnight shelter available, critics and advocates in Shawnee have said leaders are trying to "run the homeless people out of town."

"I am not one to ascribe — and truly, the city commission is neither — to ascribe to the mantra of, let's give them a bus ticket and send them elsewhere, because that is really not a solution. Again, the city commission is very understanding of the actual problem, knowing that there is not enough housing," Weckmueller-Behringer said.

Weckmueller-Behringer said Shawnee's housing shortage, part of a much larger national trend, was compounded by the tornado that hit the city on April 19, combined with households living paycheck to paycheck without enough income, "relatively loose landlords and tenant protection laws" and more.

"It is a combination of so many things. We just have to be aware that we are trying to balance the needs of all of our residents here. That includes unhoused, as well as housed neighbors and, of course, our business community, too," she said.

Weckmueller-Behringer said that misconceptions, misinformation and snap judgments made about the unhoused only exacerbate the situation.

"There is a certain fear factor involved that is not necessarily grounded in any kind of data, but it is there. It is personal perception that becomes a reality," Weckmueller-Behringer said.

The city does employ a homeless program coordinator, whose role is to help other city officials find long-term solutions to homelessness. Among those solutions, the first step is a proposed emergency shelter.

An original location for the shelter fell through due to inadequate fire suppression and costs that rose beyond the city's budget constraints. However, Weckmueller-Behringer said the city is narrowing in on other sites with hopes of having one soon.

"We have to have access to water, we have to have access to sewer, we have to have access to electricity. It has to be of the appropriate size. It has to be within the appropriate zoning district. There has to be a water hydrant close by for fire suppression purposes," she said.

"We are looking towards multiple city properties to see if one of those would have sufficient space and have all of those requirements that I just listed. In the meantime, we have to work within the current city ordinance, and the city ordinance is very restrictive in that it specifically says 1,000 feet from parks, from schools, from residences."

Weckmueller-Behringer said that unlike much larger cities with organized and concerted efforts to help the homeless coming from service providers, Shawnee's government has had to take on the role of handling homeless services.

"The city is trying to balance these competing needs of all of our citizens, and it is not an easy task," Weckmueller-Behringer said. "We will continue working on finding a site for an emergency shelter site to provide that first step toward being housed, and I truly wish that we had a ministerial alliance that could assist us in this effort."

In Oklahoma City, the city's homeless service coordinator works alongside groups like The Homeless Alliance, City Rescue Mission, City Care, Sisu Youth Services, Pivot, The Salvation Army and more. In Shawnee, the lone overnight shelter is operated by The Salvation Army, though Weckmueller-Behringer said churches and other locations are stepping up to work with the city and provide emergency warming locations for use during upcoming expected periods of below-freezing weather.

Contributing: Staff writer Jana Hayes

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Shawnee homeless ordinance: ACLU warns city of possible litigation