On the Two Pillars of the Homelessness Decision

Per Justice Gorsuch:

1. Homelessness is a complicated policy issue that can and should only be addressed by local legislatures. If judges intrude, they can only take an arrow out of the local government’s quiver, which is counterproductive.
2. Sleeping in public is “camping” whether it is done voluntarily or not. The ordinance in question was fair because it treated all campers similarly.

I have some sympathy for #1, but #2 sounds like something Javert would have said to Jean Valjean, which is exactly what you would expect from someone like Gorsuch. This decision is morally obnoxious, and it more logically should have been based on the Fifth Amendment, not the Eighth. I assume it was the existence of favorable case law that drove the petitioners in the direction of the Eighth.