In response to Supervisor Scott Wiener’s proposed legislation to set uniform, citywide park closure hours, the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club is hosting a sleep-in in Dolores Park the night before the legislation goes before the Board to draw attention to this unnecessary and misguided policy.
San Francisco prides itself on being a place that is welcoming and open to all. Our parks remain one of the City’s greatest public treasures and are spaces of recreation, sport, entertainment, and ...
In response to Supervisor Scott Wiener’s proposed legislation to set uniform, citywide park closure hours, the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club is hosting a sleep-in in Dolores Park the night before the legislation goes before the Board to draw attention to this unnecessary and misguided policy.
San Francisco prides itself on being a place that is welcoming and open to all. Our parks remain one of the City’s greatest public treasures and are spaces of recreation, sport, entertainment, and leisure. This proposed legislation threatens the accessibility and openness of our parks and comes on the heels of a spate of recent policies at City Hall that have sought to regulate public spaces, to police bodies, and to criminalize homelessness. With almost 30% of San Francisco’s homeless population identifying as LGBT, and many living on our streets and in our parks, we know who the real targets of this legislation are. This is yet another attack on the homeless, on queer people, poor people, and people of color, and on our right to exist in public space in our society. The Harvey Milk Club has had enough. Parks are for people and we believe this policy to be another step in the wrong direction for San Francisco.
Join us for a sleep-in in one of the finest parks in Supervisor Wiener’s District, Dolores Park, as we take a stand against the attack on homelessness, the attack on public access to public spaces and the attack on the San Francisco we have come to know and love. Bring a sleeping bag, a protest sign and a piece of your mind.
When/Where
Monday, October 28th at 9pm
Dolores Park (18th & Dolores St)
Who
Everyone who is fed up with San Francisco’s attack on vulnerable people and wants to take action to display their discontent with this draconian policy.
For those interested in participating in Monday night’s direct action against the park closure legislation, note that we risk running afoul of several sections of the San Francisco Park Code, violations which could result in a fine as well as infraction or misdemeanor charges. The SF Park Code does not specifically include park closure hours, it does prohibit setting up encampments or sleeping in public parks, “noisy” or “boisterous” behavior, disobeying any park signage (which includes Dolores Park's 10pm closure hour), and conducting any “exhibit” which has been publicized more than 4 hours in advance (which could include our demonstration), among others. While we expect that we would be warned prior to any citation or charge pursuant to these violations, please know that by joining us you do risk violating these city ordinances. For reasons related to Freedom of Speech and Expression and the public’s right to freely use public space, we believe that these ordinances are worth disobeying (civilly, of course).
NOTE: the SF Park Code also prohibits intoxication in public parks and acts which could be deemed violent or destructive to property in public parks. We do not intend to risk violating these ordinances and ask that you agree to do the same. We are engaging in acts of civil disobedience, and don’t intend to needlessly muddy the waters.
