Suddenly, a police officer bangs on my car’s window.
I rouse from my sleep. Looking around, I gather my bearings: I have parked on the side of the road in front of a semi trailer in a sleepy industrial park on the outskirts of a middle-class suburb.
The nearest traffic is miles away, and the breeze audibly tickles the overgrown brush nearby.
I open the window and say “Yes, sir?”
He says, “City law prohibits sleeping overnight in a vehicle within city limits. I need to ask you to leave. If we catch you again, we will issue a citation.”
Really? Illegal to sleep in a vehicle overnight? And the closest homeless shelter is a couple cities away?
So, basically: It’s illegal to be homeless here?
How are you supposed to stay protected from the rain/sun/wind/lightning?
Who makes these laws?