California’s Homeless are Dying, and Our Neighborhoods are Less Safe
Proposition 47 or Prop 47 as it is known by many in California, was passed in 2014 by receiving 59.6% of the votes. Current Governor Gavin Newsome and George Gascon, the former San Francisco district attorney appointed by Newsome, along with other political activists called it the ‘Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act’ and it went on the ballot as such. Proponents represented to voters that it would save the state of California at least $130 million annually in court and prison costs that could be invested back into our schools and neighborhoods.
Prop 47 reclassifies certain theft and drug possession felonies to misdemeanors. It also increased the threshold from $400 to $950 for crimes such as shoplifting, grand theft, forgery and writing bad checks. It also allows defendants who were previously serving sentences that were classified as felonies that would have been classified as misdemeanors under Prop 47 to petition for resentencing. Additionally, it allows for those who have already served sentences for felonies for those crimes to be reclassified as misdemeanors on their records.
In 2014 marijuana was not a legal substance and that is where the political activists focused their argument and basis for passing Prop 47. They lobbied and campaigned that sending them to jail for marijuana-related…