Grim_Night
Regular Member
I bring this to the attention of the general public here on OCDO in hopes that others may sympathize.
It's been over a year since the start of my legal troubles with my now ex-landlords. Starting in August of 2012, my landlords decided to start fighting me telling me that I couldn't have a gun in my apartment, legal or otherwise. After many months of disputes and posturing by both sides, I was finally evicted as of May 28th, 2013 and have since been homeless.
Now this was an illegal eviction. I at the time was receiving subsidized housing funded by the federal government (HUD). And per the Doctrine of unconstitutional-conditions, LINK government is barred from imposing a condition on the grant of a benefit requiring the waiver of a constitutional right. The government cannot condition a person's receipt of a governmental benefit on the waiver of a constitutionally protected right. In this case, the constitutional right is the 2nd Amendment and the benefit is the subsidized housing.
The issue in question is, considering the fact that the organization involved is a private organization and not an actual government entity, can they be held accountable? The answer is yes. Per 42 U.S.C. § 1983 LINK, commonly referred to as "section 1983" of the civil rights act...
"Every person who under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or Territory or the District of Columbia, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, Suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress, except that in any action brought against a judicial officer for an act or omission taken in such officer's judicial capacity, injunctive relief shall not be granted unless a declaratory decree was violated or declaratory relief was unavailable. For the purposes of this section, any Act of Congress applicable exclusively to the District of Columbia shall be considered to be a statute of the District of Columbia."
"under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or Territory or the District of Columbia" has been held that even a private person or organization can be held liable for the deprivation of civil rights if that person or organization is acting under the authority granted to them by the government. Such is a private doctor contracted by the state to provide medical services to state prison inmates. Relevant to my issue, a private organization contracted by the state of Washington (through DSHS) to provide mental health services to the people of Pierce county and they are also contracted by the federal government to provide subsidized housing for people suffering from a disability and homelessness.
So lets recap... A private non-profit organization, contracted by both the state of Washington and the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, to provide medical and housing related services to the general public, knowingly and willingly violated my constitutionally protected rights by demanding that I give up those rights in order to receive benefits provided by the government. When I refused, they forcefully removed me from my home by taking me to court. I now have an eviction on my record which has and will continue to bar me from obtaining housing anywhere else.
What proof do I have of these claims? I have every scrap of hard copy documentation from the entire affair. I have been in contact with lawyers regarding these issues and have been told that I have a very strong case. So what's the problem? I am a disabled individual, I suffer from both physical and mental disabilities. My mental disabilities are very controllable through medication, however, my physical disabilities are an entirely different matter. I receive Social security benefits as I am not able to work. I am however a full time college student at the age of 35 in hopes that I can acquire my 4 year degree in a new employment field so that I can obtain and maintain gainful employment.
What does this mean? I have very limited income. I cannot afford to hire a lawyer to represent me in a lawsuit against the offending party in this matter. This is why I am reaching out to the members here at OCDO. I have been in contact with SAF (Second Amendment Foundation) as well as the ACLU. If I can get the money together, there is a lawyer that is a member here on OCDO that said he could represent me.
So I put my pride aside and I humbly ask for any assistance that this community has to offer.
It's been over a year since the start of my legal troubles with my now ex-landlords. Starting in August of 2012, my landlords decided to start fighting me telling me that I couldn't have a gun in my apartment, legal or otherwise. After many months of disputes and posturing by both sides, I was finally evicted as of May 28th, 2013 and have since been homeless.
Now this was an illegal eviction. I at the time was receiving subsidized housing funded by the federal government (HUD). And per the Doctrine of unconstitutional-conditions, LINK government is barred from imposing a condition on the grant of a benefit requiring the waiver of a constitutional right. The government cannot condition a person's receipt of a governmental benefit on the waiver of a constitutionally protected right. In this case, the constitutional right is the 2nd Amendment and the benefit is the subsidized housing.
The issue in question is, considering the fact that the organization involved is a private organization and not an actual government entity, can they be held accountable? The answer is yes. Per 42 U.S.C. § 1983 LINK, commonly referred to as "section 1983" of the civil rights act...
"Every person who under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or Territory or the District of Columbia, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, Suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress, except that in any action brought against a judicial officer for an act or omission taken in such officer's judicial capacity, injunctive relief shall not be granted unless a declaratory decree was violated or declaratory relief was unavailable. For the purposes of this section, any Act of Congress applicable exclusively to the District of Columbia shall be considered to be a statute of the District of Columbia."
"under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or Territory or the District of Columbia" has been held that even a private person or organization can be held liable for the deprivation of civil rights if that person or organization is acting under the authority granted to them by the government. Such is a private doctor contracted by the state to provide medical services to state prison inmates. Relevant to my issue, a private organization contracted by the state of Washington (through DSHS) to provide mental health services to the people of Pierce county and they are also contracted by the federal government to provide subsidized housing for people suffering from a disability and homelessness.
So lets recap... A private non-profit organization, contracted by both the state of Washington and the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, to provide medical and housing related services to the general public, knowingly and willingly violated my constitutionally protected rights by demanding that I give up those rights in order to receive benefits provided by the government. When I refused, they forcefully removed me from my home by taking me to court. I now have an eviction on my record which has and will continue to bar me from obtaining housing anywhere else.
What proof do I have of these claims? I have every scrap of hard copy documentation from the entire affair. I have been in contact with lawyers regarding these issues and have been told that I have a very strong case. So what's the problem? I am a disabled individual, I suffer from both physical and mental disabilities. My mental disabilities are very controllable through medication, however, my physical disabilities are an entirely different matter. I receive Social security benefits as I am not able to work. I am however a full time college student at the age of 35 in hopes that I can acquire my 4 year degree in a new employment field so that I can obtain and maintain gainful employment.
What does this mean? I have very limited income. I cannot afford to hire a lawyer to represent me in a lawsuit against the offending party in this matter. This is why I am reaching out to the members here at OCDO. I have been in contact with SAF (Second Amendment Foundation) as well as the ACLU. If I can get the money together, there is a lawyer that is a member here on OCDO that said he could represent me.
So I put my pride aside and I humbly ask for any assistance that this community has to offer.