Catholics are urged to contact their state senators as bills related to crime and gun violence make their way through the General Assembly.
In a Jan. 29 email update about the session, the Catholic Conference of Kentucky told Catholics, “Your voice is important, and your elected representatives need to hear from you.”
Constituents can have an impact on two current issues, said the email from Jason Hall, executive director of the conference, which represents the state’s bishop on matters of public policy.
The first issue is House Bill 5, which was approved by the House and now awaits action in the Senate. Known as the “Safer Kentucky Act,” the bishops are concerned about some provisions of the bill, wrote Hall.
“Perhaps the biggest problem with HB 5 is that it criminalizes homelessness,” said Hall. “A new crime, known as ‘unlawful camping,’ would be created. We are all aware of the increasing homelessness problem in our communities, but criminalizing those experiencing homelessness is not the answer.”
If House Bill 5 becomes law, “The crime would exist and be enforceable even in counties without a homeless shelter or any available shelter beds. Before we even consider using law enforcement to arrest homeless Kentuckians, we need to make sure resources are available to provide shelter,” he said.
The bill also imposes lighter penalties for criminal mischief on those who have the financial resources to pay restitution.
“There is a certain logic to this (if you damage property, but make it right, we will reward that), but the effect of putting this language in the law will be that anyone with resources can buy down their sentence while those without will be stuck with a more significant penalty,” Hall explained. “There is enough disparity in our criminal justice system without actually writing into the law different penalties for people at different economic levels.”
The other issue Hall addressed has the conference’s support. Senate Bill 13, known as the Crisis Aversion and Rights Retention bill, would temporarily remove firearms from someone in crisis as a means to prevent self-inflicted harm and harm to others.
He said in a recent interview about the bill that studies have shown these measures reduced suicide rates in other states. And there’s hope that such provisions could reduce mass violence as well, he said.
“If someone attempts suicide and survives it, that is typically a wake-up call for those who love them, and they get what they need. And they tend not to die by suicide later,” Hall said.
In the email, Hall asked readers, “Please ask your state senator to support and, if they do support, to co-sponsor the bill.”To express your views on these issues, call 800-372-7181 and leave a message for your senator or visit https://legislature.ky.gov/ to email your senator.
