The Las Vegas City Council on Wednesday dumped a rule that made it a misdemeanor to sleep within five hundred feet of a deposit of urine or feces. This is a reversal of part of an ordinance discussed previously [1] here at PoopReport -- one that faced ridicule from civil libertarians. Council members claimed it was "mistakenly" included in a broader ordinance that banned public urination and defecation. This latest poop and pee ordinance was passed unanimously by the City Council; the statute against actually perpetrating the pee or poop still stands.
Back in August, Vegas City Attorney Brad Jerbic said that rules on setting up camp near bodily deposits would be considered separately, but nothing has reached the recommending committee yet.
I still don't get why the city would bother worrying about it. If it's illegal to pee or poop in public anyway, how are you going to nail someone for setting up camp NEAR an unauthorized "deposit" of bodily waste? How do you PROVE that a deposit is human? Would they need to? Does dog poop count? What about bird poop? Rabbit poop? Squirrel poop? Rattlesnake poop? Surely ANYWHERE a vagrant sets up camp in an open area is less than five hundred feet from SOME deposit of urine or feces.
Wouldn't it be easier to pass a law that makes it illegal to camp in those areas at all? Why involve poop? Doesn't poop have enough to worry about? I'm thinking that the poop aspect of this is a way to discourage transients from roosting but without overtly singling out the indigent. By appearing to be concerned with public health and safety, is Las Vegas covertly addressing their vagabond problem through the back door?
