Homeless, Drug Addiction, and Theft Reduction Act
Crimes, drugs, and homelessness have been plaguing California for a long time, as if we were living in a tiny third-world country. Retail corporations leave one after another. Even a San Francisco police station was burglarized recently. Drug dealers, drug addicts, and homeless people are everywhere. This is a long-awaited pivotal initiative to solve these problems, supported by over 70% of the respondents in a recent survey. We already have obtained over 400,000 signatures, and we need at least about 550,000 valid signatures before April 30th to put this on the November ballot. Please do work with us on this initiative to create a safer California. Signature form(s) can be obtained by emailing to info@justice-equality.org, specifying your address and number of forms you need (each form can take signatures of 6 registered voters from the same county).
Top leaders in law enforcement, retail corporations, medical experts, community leaders, NAACP-Oakland, and mayors of San Francisco, San Jose, Santa Monica, Santa Clara, Fremont, Saratoga, Milpitas, etc., support this pivotal initiative.
The intention of this initiative is mainly to change people’s behaviors for the betterment of our state. An analogy can be drawn to speed limit, if the speed limit is 65 miles an hour, people tend to drive 65 miles an hour or below. But if it is changed to 85, then people will drive 85. People tend to adjust their behaviors according to the law or requirements. Tighten up the law a little bit in the above-mentioned aspects is imperative given today’s very chaotic situation. Striking the balance is the name of the game for law-making. The principle of deterrence is pivotal no matter whether it is international politics or domestic law-making. Deterrence plus education can solve our crime and drug problems eventually.
The three key points of this initiative include:
1. Anybody caught with possessing hard drugs, such as opium and cocaine, will be demanded to go for drug rehab, otherwise he/she will face a felony charge. We believe this “mandated treatment approach” will work.
There was, for example, tremendous increase in drug overdose deaths in San Francisco starting 2014, 400% in 10 years, when Prop 47 became the law so that possession of hard drugs became only a misdemeanor. This virtually encouraged people to use hard drugs and thus became a key factor causing many more drug overdose deaths. Our initiative will solve this problem.
2. Another key point is that this initiative will enhance the punishment of drug dealers especially fetanyl dealers. This is needed since drugs cause more crimes. Drug addicts have to keep stealing or robbing to get money to buy drugs. Many drug addicts become homeless people. Thus, solving the drug problem will help significantly in resolving the other two problems.
3. Finally, anybody arrested the third time for stealing, regardless of the amount, will be charged a felony. This is necessary in light of the current disastrous smash-and-grab problem mainly caused by the baneful Prop 47. Many deep blue states have much tougher laws against thefts. For example, the maximum sentence for theft is 10 years in Vermont, while it is only 6 months now for California. The initiative should change people’s behaviors in this aspect rather than anything else. Anyway, the judge still has discretion to allow diversion.
Our state has been spending a fortune to deal with drugs, crimes, and homelessness. This initiative will reduce all these and thus will lower the amount of related expenditures. Please do not be misled that this initiative will take away fund from other areas, it is just the opposite. The initiative will end up saving money for our state instead.
Attached please find remarkable news coverage of the initiative with comments from various leaders.
To conclude, we urge voters to sign for this initiative and vote for it when it is on the November ballot. This imperative initiative determines whether we can continue to live in California safely. Let us work sedulously together so that we can have a much safer California for ourselves and our future generations! Please sign for this initiative now and tell everybody to do the same.
Proposed California Initiative Seeks to Change Laws to Address Crime Drug and Homelessness