In San Francisco it is permissible to defecate on the sidewalk. It is also permissible to dispose of used needles on the sidewalks. But heaven help the San Franciscan who gets caught with a plastic straw.
The Board of Supervisors just passed the first reading of an ordinance that would make it a crime for restaurants, bars and retailers to provide customers with plastic cutlery – including straws.
One lawmaker told the San Francisco Chronicle that plastic straws were her “pet peeve” and the proposed law is about changing people’s behavior.
“This is about changing people’s behavior,” Supervisor Ahsha Safaì told the San Francisco Chronicle. “Do you really need to offer a straw with a glass of water?”
The Board of Supervisors complained that the number of plastic straws in the local landfill was staggering.
Lawmakers in Santa Barbara are also cracking down on straw usage — passing an ordinance that authorizes hefty fines and even a possible jail sentence for violators.
Meanwhile, San Francisco is spending tens of millions of dollars clearing used needles and human waste from sidewalks.
Drug users and the homeless are literally defecating in public. And yet city leaders have not introduced any legislation to address the drug or public pooping epidemic.
Apparently, San Francisco lawmakers believe the greater threat to public safety is child stepping on a dirty plastic straw instead of a dirty used needle.
