Democratic State Rep. Benjamin Collings of Portland is seeking to amend Article I of the Constitution of Maine to include a “right to housing” for all individuals.
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Rep. Collings’ LD 853 is a resolution that, if passed by two thirds of each branch of the State Legislature, would give Mainer’s the opportunity to vote in a statewide referendum on whether the “right to housing” should be added to the Maine Constitution.
The “right to housing” as it appears in Collings’ resolution, reads: “All individuals have a natural, inherent and unalienable right to housing.”
The most recent amendment to be added to the “Declaration of Rights” portion of the Maine Constitution was the “right to food,” which was adopted by referendum in November 2021 with the support of 60 percent of Maine voters.
“In my opinion, part of the problem in our state and nationally that has led to the current housing crisis is that we have treated the basic need for housing as a commodity and not as a basic human right,” Rep. Collings told the Housing Committee during a Tuesday public hearing on his bill.
“Guaranteeing a right to housing will set up a framework where the state will have a duty to do more for those without homes, and those who may have to spend sometimes half of their monthly income to have access to the most basic shelter,” he said.
During his testimony, Collings responded to criticism that his proposal to establish a right to housing “would mean that Maine will be giving people free homes.”
“That is a very inaccurate assessment, and that is not our constitutional rights work,” Collings said. “The Second Amendment, for example, offers certain rights for gun ownership. However, it doesn’t mean that the government gives away free guns to individuals.”
Similarly, Collings argued, his proposal would “protect the right to shelter for individuals,” and would not mean that “everyone gets a free home.”
Currently, under Article I, Section I of the Maine Constitution, “possessing and protecting property” is listed as a natural, inherent and unalienable right.
Collings told the Housing Committee Tuesday that the right to housing, if enacted, would be subject to the discretion of state and municipal governments “on how they would back up the right [to housing] for individuals and families.”
The Portland Democrat’s proposal comes as Maine is facing a severe shortage in housing supply and affordability that has worsened since the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The October 2023 State of Maine Housing Production Needs Study found that Maine households need to make over $100,000 annually in order to afford the median home price.
The study, which was overseen by the Maine State Housing Authority and Gov. Janet Mills’ Office of Policy Innovation and the Future, estimated that Maine will need approximately 80,000 new homes by 2030 to meet expected population growth.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="24847 https://www.themainewire.com/?p=24847">24 Comments
This move fits in with Gov. Mills’ plan to import as many illegal immigrants as possible, and is one more step in making Maine a socialist state. Hopefully it will die an early death.
Let’s also add a “living wage” of around $100k as a “right”, along with a “free” government-owned house. Finally, poverty will be vanquished forever!
Wow! The state’s “commies in training” such as Collings aren’t even embarrassed by their never ending “rights” campaigns. Thankfully, it’s still legitimately my right to called them ridiculous clowns who should never be anywhere near public office but it is The People’s Republic of Portland after all so I guess it’s expected.
The reality is that there are too much rich white privileged folks in Maine with houses that are empty. The greedy hoarders will be eventually nudged to use these vacant rooms for homeless or immigrants. We’ll do this by asking and eventually by force if needed. Housing is a human right and when old rich white men harm others in society through greed – we shall eat the rich.
“Rights” in Anglo-American jurisprudence have always only applied to those things which belong to the individual by nature. You have a right to your own life and the right to lead that life in the manner consistent with your own rational self interest. You have a right to your own property and the fruits of your own labor. Indeed, property is the root of all liberty, for the man who labors and produces product that is taken from him against his will is a slave. There is no right to anything that you do not possess by nature and must be provided to you by others. Therefore there is no right to healthcare, no right to food,, no right to an education, and no right to housing. To hold up the concept that these things are rights and enshrine them in the color of law is to enact slavery on those who are forced to pay for it. It is Marxism, pure and simple. There is no right to the labor and property of others. The people of Maine need a good swift wake up call before we are all reduced to a state of ruin.
@Mike, So the 100,000+ New Americans coming to Maine have no right to housing? You literally expect us to take all these immigrants now provide them housing? This in itself would be inhumane. The US has plenty of money that we can make housing a human right. If your silly Constitution can make “guns” a human right, then we can make housing. The only difference is one kills people and the other saves them.
You’re on the wrong side of history.
Maine’s Constitution already solidifies the right to food, soon abortions, soon gender-affirming care, and soon housing.
We’re rebuilding a new Maine and a new America with the strength of the New Americans arriving. We’ll replace the out-dated constitution with a new Progressive on that enshrines Equitable outcomes for all.
This is a Democracy. We have RIGHT to take from the rich and redistribute the wealth through any means necessary. May be it reparations, bills, DEI Initiatives, etc.
Remember Connor, a human right doesn’t cost anyone a penny. If a “human right” puts an onus on others to pay for it it’s not a right by definition.
And good luck forcing anything on anyone. World will be a far better place when your idiocy forces your demise.
Migrants? Immigrant? New Americans?
Call them what they are Connor: illegal alienncriminal invaders who have zero right to be here.
You want immigration? Follow the law, period. Everyone of these 100,000 new Americans should be deported.
How about this. We use that money to build as many amnesty courts as needed to provide immediate adjudication of all amnesty cases (less than 5% will qualify) so we can deport the rest right after their fair hearing.
Communism is great until you run out of my money for your pathetic sh!t show.
Connor: How many are you taking in? I’m betting the number is real close to ZERO.
The Preamble of the Maine Constitution states: “Objects of government. We the people of Maine, in order to establish justice, insure tranquility, provide for our mutual defense, promote our common welfare, and secure to ourselves and our posterity the blessings of liberty, acknowledging with grateful hearts the goodness of the Sovereign Ruler of the Universe in affording us an opportunity, so favorable to the design; and, imploring God’s aid and direction in its accomplishment, do agree to form ourselves into a free and independent State, by the style and title of the State of Maine and do ordain and establish the following Constitution for the government of the same.”
When you stop acknowledging our Maker’s handiwork in the life of a pre-born child, when you stop acknowledging that we need to implore God’s aid and direction, when you stop acknowledging the goodness of the Sovereign Ruler of the Universe, you are indeed looking at a communistic state. Let’s change the direction this state is now heading before it’s too late. Remember -Elections have consequences. Let’s change Maine now! Call your legislator and Senator and give them your thoughts and ideas. Remember – their are “Public Servants”.
@TC, if I was a rich white male with multiple houses in Maine, then I would easily house as many as I can for free. I advocate fully for Maine Democrats to pass a bill that penalizes landlords and land owners who don’t utilize their property and hoard it when causing pain for others.
You need to remember. Maine people live and reap the benefits of stolen land.
“The ‘right to housing’ as it appears in Collings’ resolution, reads: ‘All individuals have a natural, inherent and unalienable right to housing.'” This is borrowed from above.
Collins’ real goal is the right to anything. All items on his wish list are interchangeable when it comes to rights. Collins believes that everything you believed when you were a kid is true. Truth is, all individuals already have the right to housing, just not free housing. State government should abide by providing a common self-defense, and it should promote, not provide, general welfare. Somebody has to pay. Reminds me of the teenager who protests for human rights by stopping traffic while he lives in his parents’ home and eats at their kitchen table. He’s just a kid, better for him to get it out of his system early. Otherwise he may grow up to be a congressman enamored by access to other people’s money. So what should he do? How about retrace the steps that got us in this position, then press undo.
As a conservative, I believe that housing is indeed a right. However, the claim that housing is a human right is used as a pretext to install socialism. A socialist housing system would lead to high-cost, garbage quality housing (if any was available at all) and a complete social and economic collapse. The best way to make high-quality, low-cost housing available to all is to organize the system on a market basis, with government and charitable subsidies available to help those who genuinely need help.
BTW, get lost, Connor.
Connor needs to be arrested for subversive activity and treason. I wonder if we could track down his IP address and send it over to law enforcement.
@Bob, if you haven’t noticed, they are on my side.
@Bob so you want to kill Conor,but are too much of a coward to do it yourself?
No need to amend the Maine constitution to allow Communist DemocRats to enjoy the fruits of someone else’s labor. The Communist DemocRats already have the option to move to Cuba, Venezuela, or North Korea.
Woah hey,settle your horses.I am just a proud Marxist,a doing little bit of trolling with my good pal Conor.
@Bob
It’s all good,my mistake. Do you want to make out,to make it up?
@Bill Janesmith
No worries. Good pun,HAHA.
A truly dumb policy that will cost taxpayers and businesses a fortune. Everyone currently has the right to a home but no one has, nor should they have, the right to make anyone but themselves pay for it. Just another example of mindless poorly thought out liberal policies that will have massive negative and unintended consequences for taxpayers and the economy. If you want a home, you currently have the right to go buy one just like everyone else has.
Take them to Ocean Park thy have front yard signs showing support.
Benjamin Collins is a union money sucking leach, who made a ton of money off hard working union members paying their dues. He’s been in politics over 30 years, probably NEVER had a real job. Maybe he would like to show us in the US Constitution where Americans have a ‘right’….to receive some physical item, like a car, horse, hay, oranges, toilet paper, etc, etc…