By Audrey Sawyer
SHAWNEE, OK – The ACLU of Oklahoma has sent a letter to the city of Shawnee here, questioning the constitutionality of the “No Sit, No Lie” ordinance in the city of Shawnee.
The ordinance, which passed on a 6-1 vote, now prohibits individuals to sleep outdoors, in addition to sitting, lying down, or placing any items alongside them in downtown Shawnee.
Previously, a similar message had been sent to Oklahoma City by the ACLU after an anti-panhandling ordinance passed that was later found to be in violation of the First Amendment—the ACLU protest cost taxpayers more than a million dollars in attorney fees.
The ordinance claimed to further public safety, said the ACLU, but noted critics said the ordinance comes at an expensive price for not only the unhoused Shawnee population, but also for taxpayers.
After the ACLU had contacted OKC warning them, the ACLU pursued a winning lawsuit against the ordinance the ACLU now claims is similar to the current ordinance of Shawnee.
The letter claims Shawnee’s ordinance is a violation of the First Amendment, citing the Supreme Court case of McCullen v. Oakley (2014), charging the Shawnee “No Sit, No Lie” ordinance is censoring protected speech.
Regarding the criminalization of protected speech, the letter explains that “speech on public sidewalks is criminalized simply due to someone sitting or lying down while speaking,” adding all people, unhoused individuals included, have a right to use such public spaces for speech purposes, such as parks or sidewalks.
Shawnee’s ordinance, according to the letter, is “too extreme of a step” because Shawnee would be closing off a public forum to all speakers who may want to sit or lie down, demanding the ordinance be repealed.
The letter concludes by stating OKC defending their ordinance had cost taxpayers more than a million dollars in attorney fees, whereas repealing the “No Sit, No Lie” ordinance in Shawnee would be a more “cost effective and expeditious” way to both protect taxpayers and the constitutional freedoms of Oklahomans.
