Hundreds protest court order blocking removal of SF homeless camps.

Hundreds of people took to the streets of San Francisco on Wednesday, passionately demanding a federal court to reverse ⁢an⁢ injunction that prevents the city from removing homeless encampments from its streets.

The protesters gathered outside the ⁢Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, where attorneys for the city pleaded with three federal judges to put an end to the injunction.

Both sides of⁤ the issue were ‍represented among the protesters, but the‍ overwhelming majority supported the removal of the injunction ⁢and the clearing out of the homeless, according to local reports.

The ⁣controversy originated from a federal judge’s emergency order last year, which prohibited the city from removing homeless shelters and tents due to the lack of ⁢available shelter ⁤beds‌ for the homeless population.

Now, city officials are seeking to have the injunction reversed, arguing that homeless individuals are refusing shelter in light of ‍the order.

“The‍ court’s order has created an impossible situation for us to implement, and​ its ​vagueness has made ‍it extremely challenging‌ to determine the appropriate course of action,” said David Chiu, San ‌Francisco city ⁤attorney.

The city’s ‍Democratic mayor, London‌ Breed, strongly desires the lifting of the order.

“The fact that the courts have hindered our ability‌ to fulfill our​ duty of helping people find ‍shelter is nothing short of ⁢criminal,” Breed stated. “If we have a place for‌ someone to go, they need to go. There must be accountability.”

Activists supporting the ⁣homeless argue that the city should not have the authority to remove them from the streets.

“Through this ⁣lawsuit, we aim to‌ compel the city to cease violating ‌people’s fundamental rights. We want them to stop ​unlawfully confiscating property and criminalizing individuals who‍ have no choice but to live on the streets,” said ⁣Jennifer Friedenbach, executive director ⁤at the Coalition on Homelessness.

This conflict arises as San Francisco continues to experience a decline in businesses due to escalating crime and homelessness.

San Francisco has witnessed the closure of several prominent businesses in recent times. Old Navy announced the ​closure of its flagship store in‌ May. Whole Foods and Nordstrom have also shuttered their businesses ⁤in the city due to safety concerns. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the downtown area has lost half of its businesses.

In the second quarter of this year, San ⁣Francisco recorded a record-high rate of office vacancies. ‌Companies such as Uber, Airbnb, and ‌Salesforce have⁤ been attempting to ​abandon their office spaces in the struggling city.

Homicides ⁣in ‍San Francisco have increased by nearly 40 percent from 2020 ‌to 2022, and ‌deaths from fentanyl have spiked.