U.S. Briefs: Homeless camp cleanup hurdles in California

California

Despite an election year order from Gov. Gavin Newsom to clear the state’s homeless encampments, some California cities still face pushback—including in the courts and on the streets. A federal court order in early August threatened to hinder cleanup efforts by San Francisco Mayor London Breed, who in late July began following through on a pledge to remove occupied tents and piles of belongings clogging city sidewalks. U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge Donna Ryu ruled the city must provide more training to city workers to ensure they are fully complying with the city’s bag and tag policy, which prevents workers from throwing away homeless individuals’ personal property unless it is a safety hazard. San Francisco’s recent clampdown on public camping followed a June Supreme Court decision that allowed West Coast cities to penalize individuals for sleeping in public places. San Francisco city workers removed many longstanding encampments in their sweep and in the course of a few days confronted 235 homeless individuals, but said only 24 of them accepted offers of shelter. Local residents said tents were already popping back up in recently cleared areas less than a week later. —Addie Offereins

Michigan

Attorneys who hope to use the “gay or transgender panic defense” in Michigan courts of law will have to find another strategy. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a bill July 23 that adds Michigan to the 19 states already banning the legal defense, which defendants have sometimes used to obtain leniency after committing violent crimes against gay or transgender persons. Opponents of the practice point to a 2018 case in Texas in which guitarist James Miller stabbed a male friend who unexpectedly tried to kiss him. Miller received a light sentence after he contended he had been motivated by “gay panic.” The American Bar Association claims the “tactic strengthen[s] the defense while playing on prejudice” and argues eliminating it will reduce crimes against LGBTQ persons. —Bekah McCallum

Virginia

Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Aug. 7 signed an executive order to step up enforcement of state election laws and also announced the discovery of 6,303 noncitizens who had “purposefully or accidentally registered to vote” in Virginia over the previous 2½ years. Under the order, the Department of Motor Vehicles—where many people apply to register to vote—must send “a daily file of all non-citizens transactions” to the state’s Department of Elections. The order also directed state authorities to certify that absentee ballots were sent only to registered voters who requested them, among other security measures. Youngkin wrote on X, “Call me crazy, but I think American elections should be decided by American citizens, and Virginia elections should be decided by Virginians.” —Tim Lamer

Minnesota

Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, won a political victory Aug. 7 when the Minnesota Supreme Court upheld a state law expanding voting rights for convicted felons. Under the law Walz signed in 2023, convicted felons may vote in Minnesota’s general elections as soon as they are released from prison. Previously, felons had to finish probation or parole before being allowed to vote. The Minnesota Voters Alliance had sued to block the law, arguing that the government unlawfully used more than $200,000 in taxpayer funds to educate previously incarcerated felons about their voting rights. A lower court dismissed the suit, and the Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal, meaning around 55,000 more Minnesotans will be eligible to vote this November. Minnesota is one of 23 states that restore voting privileges to felons immediately upon the offender’s release from custody. Among other voting rights measures in the state: In May, Minnesota’s Legislature approved and Walz signed the Minnesota Voting Rights Act, legislation that gives Minnesotans a right to sue if they believe their voting rights have been hindered due to racial bias. —Bekah McCallum

South Carolina

Executions in the Palmetto State have been blocked since 2022, but they can now resume—including by firing squad—thanks to a state Supreme Court ruling July 31. South Carolina paused executions in 2011 after the state’s supply of lethal drugs expired and drug companies refused to sell more of the injections. In 2021, the state created a firing squad as an alternative, but death row inmates sued. A Richland County court ruled in 2022 that the firing squad and electric chair violated the South Carolina Constitution’s ban on cruel, corporal, or unusual punishment. But the state Supreme Court disagreed: Justice John Cannon Few wrote that the two methods cannot be considered cruel “because the condemned inmate may elect to have the state employ the method he and his lawyers believe will cause him the least pain.” Lethal injection is now an option again as well, since the state procured more lethal injection drugs in 2023 after instituting a shield law to keep the suppliers’ identities secret. —Addie Offereins

New York

A purported financial crisis is forcing Planned Parenthood of Greater New York (PPGNY) to limit the abortions it can perform. On Aug. 7 the agency announced the “proposed closure” of four sites across the state and, beginning Sept. 3, a temporary halt to abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy at its Manhattan location. Among the reasons cited by the abortion giant was a state budget that “fell short of responding to the needs of sexual and reproductive health care providers,” unreliable insurer reimbursements, ongoing pandemic recovery, and a “hostile political landscape.” According to PPGNY’s president and CEO, Wendy Stark, the Manhattan facility can no longer afford to outsource the deep sedation pain management required to perform abortions after 20 weeks. Kristen Curran of the New York State Catholic Conference expressed relief over the impending closures, but she said the development raises questions over the $35 million Gov. Kathy Hochul allocated to subsidize abortion centers throughout the state: “Where exactly are these tens of millions of dollars going?” —Kim Henderson