Activists Are Wrong About Camping Bans
Earlier this week, North Carolina’s House State and Local Government Committee advanced a bill that would regulate where homeless people are allowed to sleep. House Bill 781 is similar to bills that state lawmakers have passed around the country as America’s homelessness crisis has spiraled out of control over the last decade.
So-called “camping ban” bills restrict unregulated homeless camps that appear in parks, sidewalks, abandoned lots, or other areas, requiring homeless individuals to accept beds in shelters or designated sites in which they are permitted to camp. Such policies are in line with the public’s firm, bipartisan support for regulating camping. In a 2024 poll of voters in North Carolina, more than 80% of Democrats and Republicans said that it is more compassionate for homeless people to sleep in designated camping areas than to be left to sleep on the street wherever they choose.
Despite this, many activist groups strongly opposed the bill in the committee hearing, claiming that the bill criminalizes homelessness, creates “concentration camps,” and could even kill veterans and homeless people. Finally, opponents of camping bans claim that the only reason people are homeless is because of housing costs, and thus, the only way to solve homelessness is through more affordable housing. These claims are unfounded and deceptive.
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