{"id":84705,"date":"2024-07-06T11:26:25","date_gmt":"2024-07-06T15:26:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/?p=84705"},"modified":"2024-07-06T11:26:25","modified_gmt":"2024-07-06T15:26:25","slug":"scotus-decision-on-homelessness-highlights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2024\/07\/scotus-decision-on-homelessness-highlights.html","title":{"rendered":"SCOTUS Decision on Homelessness: Highlights"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
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Photo Credit: Christopher Michel (5-25-20). Homeless encampment in San Francisco [Wikimedia Commons \/ Creative Commons\u00a0Attribution 2.0 Generic license]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>
The decision in the case,<\/span> City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson Et Al<\/a> was written by Justice Gorsuch, joined by the other five legally \u201cconservative\u201d Justices. Note that it wasn\u2019t the Supreme Court\u2019s task to solve the problem of homelessness. It simply overturned a lower court ruling that disallowed enforcement of the prohibition of ongoing occupation of public property. Justice Gorsuch explains why such a prohibition actually helps<\/em> the homeless, rather than harm them.<\/span><\/p>\n
I won\u2019t bother to add all the italics. I\u2019ve added some paragraph breaks for the sake of better readability. All bolding is my own.<\/span><\/p>\n
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Those experiencing homelessness may be as diverse as the Nation itself\u2014they are young and old and belong to all races and creeds. People become homeless for a variety of reasons, too, many beyond their control. Some have been affected by economic conditions, rising housing costs, or natural disasters. Id., at 37; see Brief for United States as Amicus Curiae 2\u20133. Some have been forced from their homes to escape domestic violence and other forms of exploitation. Ibid. And still others struggle with drug addiction and mental illness.<\/div>\n
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By one estimate, perhaps 78 percent of the unsheltered suffer from mental-health issues<\/strong>, while 75 percent struggle with substance abuse<\/strong>. See J. Rountree, N. Hess, & A. Lyke, Health Conditions Among Unsheltered Adults in the U. S., Calif. Policy Lab, Policy Brief 5 (2019). (p. 2) California\u2019s Governor reports that encampment inhabitants face heightened risks of \u201csexual assault\u201d and \u201csubjugation to sex work.\u201d<\/strong> Brief for California Governor G. Newsom as Amicus Curiae 11 (California Governor Brief ).<\/div>\n
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And by one estimate, more than 40 percent of the shootings in Seattle in early 2022 were linked to homeless encampments<\/strong>. Brief for Washington State Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs as Amicus Curiae on Pet. for Cert. 10 (Washington Sheriffs Brief ). Other challenges have arisen as well. Some city officials indicate that encampments facilitate the distribution of drugs like heroin and fentanyl, which have claimed the lives of so many Americans in recent years<\/strong>. Brief for Office of the San Diego County District Attorney as Amicus Curiae 17\u201319. Without running water or proper sanitation facilities, too, diseases can sometimes spread in encampments<\/strong> and beyond them. Various States say that they have seen typhus, shigella, trench fever, and other diseases reemerge on their city streets<\/strong>. California Governor Brief 12; Brief for Idaho et al. as Amici Curiae 7 (States Brief ). (pp. 3-4)<\/div>\n
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\nAs many cities see it, even as they have expanded shelter capacity and other public services, their unsheltered populations have continued to grow. Id., at 9\u201311. The city of Seattle, for example, reports that roughly 60 percent of its offers of shelter have been rejected<\/strong> in a recent year. See id., at 28, and n. 26. Officials in Portland, Oregon, indicate that, between April 2022 and January 2024, over 70 percent of their approximately 3,500 offers of shelter beds to homeless individuals were declined<\/strong>. Brief for League of Oregon Cities et al. as Amici Curiae 5 (Oregon Cities Brief ). Other cities tell us that \u201cthe vast majority of their homeless populations are not actively seeking shelter and refuse all services.\u201d<\/strong> Brief for Thirteen California Cities as Amici Curiae 3. Surveys cited by the Department of Justice suggest that only \u201c25\u201341 percent\u201d of \u201chomeless encampment residents\u201d \u201cwillingly\u201d accept offers of shelter beds<\/strong>. See Dept. of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, S. Chamard, Homeless Encampments 36 (2010). (p. 5)
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*\nBy one count, \u201ca majority of cities have laws restricting camping in public spaces,\u201d and nearly forty percent \u201chave one or more laws prohibiting camping citywide.\u201d See Brief for Western Regional Advocacy Project as Amicus Curiae 7, n. 15 (emphasis deleted). Some have argued that the enforcement of these laws can create a \u201crevolving door that circulates individuals experiencing homelessness from the street to the criminal justice system and back.\u201d U. S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, Searching Out Solutions 6 (2012).<\/div>\n
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But many cities take a different view. According to the National League of Cities <\/strong>(a group that represents more than 19,000 American cities and towns), the National Association of Counties <\/strong>(which represents the Nation\u2019s 3,069 counties) and others across the American West, these public-camping regulations are not usually deployed as a front-line response \u201cto criminalize homelessness.\u201d<\/strong> Cities Brief 11. Instead, they are used to provide city employees with the legal authority to address \u201cencampments that pose significant health and safety risks\u201d and to encourage their inhabitants to accept other alternatives like shelters, drug treatment programs, and mental-health facilities.<\/strong> Ibid. (p. 6)*
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According to the Ninth Circuit, nearly three quarters of Boise\u2019s\u00a0shelter beds were not \u201cpractically available\u201d because the\u00a0city\u2019s charitable shelters had a \u201creligious atmosphere.\u201d<\/strong> (p. 7)*
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*\nConsider San Francisco, where each night thousands sleep \u201cin tents and other makeshift structures.\u201d Brief for City and County of San Francisco et al. as Amici Curiae 8 (San Francisco Brief ). Applying Martin, a district court entered an injunction barring the city from enforcing \u201claws and ordinances to prohibit involuntarily homeless individuals from sitting, lying, or sleeping on public property.\u201d Coalition on Homelessness v. San Francisco, 647 F. Supp. 3d 806, 841 (ND Cal. 2022).<\/div>\n
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That \u201cmisapplication of this Court\u2019s Eighth Amendment precedents,\u201d the Mayor tells us, has \u201cseverely constrained San Francisco\u2019s ability to address the homelessness crisis.\u201d<\/strong> San Francisco Brief 7. The city \u201cuses enforcement of its laws prohibiting camping\u201d not to criminalize homelessness, but \u201cas one important tool among others to encourage individuals experiencing homelessness to accept services and to help ensure safe and accessible sidewalks and public spaces.\u201d<\/strong> Id., at 7\u20138. Judicial intervention restricting the use of that tool, the Mayor continues, \u201chas led to painful results on the streets and in neighborhoods.\u201d Id., at 8. \u201cSan Francisco has seen over half of its offers of shelter and services rejected by unhoused individuals<\/strong>, who often cite\u201d the Martin order against the city \u201cas their justification to permanently occupy and block public sidewalks.\u201d Id., at 8\u20139. (pp. 8-9)*
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Many cities further report that, rather than help alleviate the homelessness crisis, Martin injunctions have inadvertently contributed to it<\/strong>. The numbers of \u201c[u]nsheltered homelessness,\u201d they represent, have \u201cincreased dramatically in the Ninth Circuit since Martin.\u201d Brief for League of Oregon Cities et al. as Amici Curiae on Pet. for Cert. 7 (boldface and capitalization deleted). And, they say, Martin injunctions have contributed to this trend by \u201cweaken[ing]\u201d the ability of public officials \u201cto persuade persons experiencing homelessness to accept shelter beds and [other] services.\u201d<\/strong> Brief for Ten California Cities as Amici Curiae on Pet. for Cert. 2. In Portland, for example, residents report some unsheltered persons \u201coften return within days\u201d of an encampment\u2019s clearing, on the understanding that \u201cMartin . . . and its progeny prohibit the [c]ity from implementing more efficacious strategies.\u201d Tozer Brief 5; Washington Sheriffs Brief 14 (Martin divests officers of the \u201cability to compel [unsheltered] persons to leave encampments and obtain necessary services\u201d).*
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\nIn short, they say, Martin \u201cmake[s] solving this crisis harder.\u201d Cities Cert. Brief 3. All acknowledge \u201c[h]omelessness is a complex and serious social issue that cries out for effective . . . responses.\u201d Ibid. But many States and cities believe \u201cit is crucial\u201d for local governments to \u201chave the latitude\u201d to experiment and find effective responses.<\/strong> Id., at 27; States Brief 13\u201317. \u201cInjunctions and the threat of federal litigation,\u201d they insist, \u201cimpede this democratic process,\u201d undermine local governments, and do not well serve the homeless<\/strong> or others who live in the Ninth Circuit. Cities Cert. Brief 27\u201328. (p. 10)
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In fact, the court ruled, none of the beds at Grants Pass\u2019s charity-run shelter qualified as \u201cavailable.\u201d<\/strong> They did not, the court said, both because that shelter offers something closer to transitional housing than \u201ctemporary emergency shelter,\u201d and because the shelter has rules requiring residents to abstain from smoking and attend religious services.<\/strong> Id., at 179a\u2013180a. The Eighth Amendment, the district court thus concluded, prohibited Grants Pass from enforcing its laws against homeless individuals in the city. Id., at 182a\u2013183a. (p. 13)***
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\nIs a bed \u201cavailable\u201d to a smoker if the shelter requires residents to abstain from nicotine<\/strong>, as the shelter in Grants Pass does? 72 F. 4th, at 896; App. 39, Third Amended Complaint \u00b613. Is a bed \u201cavailable\u201d to an atheist if the shelter includes \u201creligious\u201d messaging?<\/strong> 72 F. 4th, at 877. (p. 28)
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\nThere is uncertainty, as well, over whether Martin requires cities to tolerate other acts no less \u201cattendant [to] survival\u201d than sleeping, such as starting fires to cook food and \u201cpublic urination [and] defecation.\u201d<\/strong> Phoenix Cert. Brief 29\u201330; see also Mahoney v. Sacramento, 2020 WL 616302, *3 (ED Cal., Feb. 10, 2020) (indicating that \u201cthe [c]ity may not prosecute or otherwise penalize the [homeless] for eliminating in public if there is no alternative to doing so\u201d). (p. 29)
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\nDoubtless, the Ninth Circuit\u2019s intervention in Martin was well-intended. But since the trial court entered its injunction against Grants Pass, the city shelter reports that utilization of its resources has fallen by roughly 40 percent.<\/strong> See Brief for Grants Pass Gospel Rescue Mission as Amicus Curiae 4\u20135. Many other cities offer similar accounts about their experiences after Martin, telling us the decision has made it more difficult, not less, to help the homeless accept shelter off city streets.<\/strong> See Part I\u2013B, supra (recounting examples). Even when \u201cpolicymakers would prefer to invest in more permanent\u201d programs and policies designed to benefit homeless and other citizens, Martin has forced these \u201coverwhelmed jurisdictions to concentrate public resources on temporary shelter beds.\u201d Cities Brief 25; see Oregon Cities Brief 17\u201320; States Brief 16\u201317. As a result, cities report, Martin has undermined their efforts to balance conflicting public needs and mired them in litigation at a time when the homelessness crisis calls for action. See States Brief 16\u201317. (p. 30)
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All told, the Martin experiment is perhaps just what Justice Marshall anticipated ones like it would be. The Eighth Amendment provides no guidance to \u201cconfine\u201d judges in deciding what conduct a State or city may or may not proscribe. Powell, 392 U. S., at 534. Instead of encouraging \u201cproductive dialogue\u201d and \u201cexperimentation\u201d through our democratic institutions, courts have frozen in place their own \u201cformulas\u201d by \u201cfiat.\u201d<\/strong> Id., at 534, 537. Issued by federal courts removed from realities on the ground, those rules have produced confusion. (p. 30)***
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\nRather than address what we have actually said<\/strong>, the dissent accuses us of extending to local governments an \u201cunfettered freedom to punish,\u201d post, at 25, and stripping away any protections \u201cthe Constitution\u201d has against \u201ccriminalizing sleeping,\u201d post, at 5. \u201cEither stay awake,\u201d the dissent warns, \u201cor be arrested.\u201d Post, at 2. That is gravely mistaken. We hold nothing of the sort. . . . Nor does the dissent meaningfully engage with the reasons we have offered for our conclusion<\/strong> . . . (p. 31)
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\nThe dissent suggests we cite selectively to the amici and \u201csee only what [we] wan[t]\u201d in their briefs. Post, at 24. In fact, all the States, cities, and counties listed above (n. 3, supra) asked us to review this case. Among them all, the dissent purports to identify just two public officials and two cities that, according to the dissent, support its view.<\/strong> Post, at 24\u201325. But even among that select group, the dissent overlooks the fact that each expresses strong dissatisfaction with how Martin has been applied in practice. See San Francisco Brief 15, 26 (\u201c[T]he Ninth Circuit and its lower courts have repeatedly misapplied and overextended the Eighth Amendment\u201d and \u201chamstrung San Francisco\u2019s balanced approach to addressing the homelessness crisis\u201d); Brief for City of Los Angeles as Amicus Curiae 6 (\u201c[T]he sweeping rationale in Martin . . . calls into question whether cities can enforce public health and safety laws\u201d); California Governor Brief 3 (\u201cIn the wake of Martin, lower courts have blocked efforts to clear encampments while micromanaging what qualifies as a suitable offer of shelter\u201d). And for all the reasons we have explored and so many other cities have suggested, we see no principled basis under the Eighth Amendment for federal judges to administer anything like Martin. (footnote on pp. 30-31)
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***\nTo be sure, the dissent seeks to portray the new rule it advocates as a modest, \u201climited,\u201d and \u201cnarrow\u201d one addressing only those who wish to fulfill a \u201cbiological necessity\u201d and \u201ckeep warm outside with a blanket\u201d when they have no other \u201cadequate\u201d place \u201cto go.\u201d Post, at 1, 5, 10, 21, 24. But that reply blinks the difficult questions that necessarily follow and the Ninth Circuit has been forced to confront: What does it mean to be \u201cinvoluntarily\u201d homeless with \u201cno place to go\u201d? What kind of \u201cadequate\u201d shelter must a city provide to avoid being forced to allow people to camp in its parks and on its sidewalks? And what are people entitled to do and use in public spaces to \u201ckeep warm\u201d and fulfill other \u201cbiological necessities\u201d? (pp. 32-33)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Related Reading<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
*<\/div>\n
Catholic Compassion & Beggars on the Street: What is Our Responsibility? \/ Analysis of Poverty &\u00a0Its Causes &\u00a0Solutions<\/a>\u00a0[12-30-11]<\/div>\n
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On Homelessness & Soup Kitchens (by my Son Michael: 19)<\/a>\u00a0[9-10-12]<\/div>\n
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More Thoughts on Giving Alms to Homeless Beggars on the Street<\/a>\u00a0[11-23-13]<\/div>\n
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Dialogue: Conservatives & \u201cOld\u201d Pro-Lifers & the Poor<\/a>\u00a0[10-3-16]<\/div>\n
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Debate: Do Liberal Social Policies Lessen Abortion & Poverty?<\/a>\u00a0[4-12-17]<\/div>\n
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This<\/em>\u00a0\u201cConservative\u201d is\u00a0Very<\/em>\u00a0Passionate About Social Justice<\/a>\u00a0[8-31-17]<\/div>\n
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Random Thoughts on Homelessness<\/a>\u00a0[Facebook, 7-4-24]***
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Photo Credit<\/strong>: Christopher Michel<\/a> (5-25-20). Homeless encampment in San Francisco<\/span> [Wikimedia Commons<\/a> \/ Creative Commons<\/a>\u00a0Attribution 2.0 Generic<\/a> license]<\/p>\n
Summary<\/em>: Highlights from the Supreme Court case regarding homeless encampments: City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson Et Al, from the decision written by Justice Gorsuch.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The decision in the case, City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson Et Al was written by Justice Gorsuch, joined by the other five legally \u201cconservative\u201d Justices. Note that it wasn\u2019t the Supreme Court\u2019s task to solve the problem of homelessness. It simply overturned a lower court ruling that disallowed enforcement of the prohibition of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2331,"featured_media":84714,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[289],"tags":[19125,19128,12014,19119,3183,19122],"class_list":["post-84705","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-political-ethical-moral-issues","tag-city-of-grants-pass-oregon-v-johnson-et-al","tag-justice-gorsuch","tag-scotus","tag-scotus-decision-on-homelessness","tag-supreme-court","tag-trespassing-on-public-streets"],"yoast_head":"\nSCOTUS Decision on Homelessness: Highlights<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Highlights from the Supreme Court case regarding homeless encampments: City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. 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Formerly a campus missionary, as a Protestant, Dave was received into the Catholic Church in February 1991, by the late, well-known catechist and theologian, Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J. Dave\u2019s articles have appeared in many influential Catholic periodicals, including \\\"This Rock\\\" (now called \\\"Catholic Answers Magazine\\\"), \\\"Envoy Magazine\\\" (Patrick Madrid), \\\"The Catholic Answer,\\\" \\\"The Coming Home Journal,\\\" \\\"Gilbert Magazine\\\" (American Chesterton Society), and \\\"The Latin Mass.\\\" He also writes a featured column for every issue of \\\"The Michigan Catholic\\\": published by the archdiocese of Detroit, and was editor for most of the apologetics tracts published by the St. Paul Street Evangelization apostolate. Dave\u2019s apologetics and writing apostolate was the subject of a feature article in the May 2002 issue of \\\"Envoy Magazine.\\\" He served as the staff moderator at the Internet discussion forum for The Coming Home Network, from 2007-2010. Dave has been interviewed on many nationally syndicated Catholic radio shows, including \\\"Catholic Answers Live\\\" (twice), \\\"Faith and Family Live\\\" (Steve Wood), \\\"Kresta in the Afternoon,\\\" \\\"Son Rise Morning Show,\\\" \\\"Catholic Connection\\\" (Teresa Tomeo), and \\\"The Catholics Next Door.\\\" His large and popular website, \\\"Biblical Evidence for Catholicism,\\\" was online from March 1997 to March 2007, and received the 1998 Catholic Website of the Year award from \\\"Envoy Magazine.\\\" His blog of the same name (now transferred to Patheos), begun in February 2004, contains more than 1,500 papers, at least 500 debates or dialogues, and over 50 distinct \\\"index\\\" web pages. Unsolicited correspondence has indicated many hundreds of conversions (or returns) to the Catholic faith as a result, by God's grace, of these writings. Dave's conversion story was published in the bestselling book \\\"Surprised by Truth\\\" (edited by Patrick Madrid; San Diego: Basilica Press, 1994). Sophia Institute Press has published six of his books: \\\"A Biblical Defense of Catholicism\\\" (Foreword by Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J., 1996 \/ 2003), \\\"The Catholic Verses\\\" (2004), \\\"The One-Minute Apologist\\\" (2007), \\\"Bible Proofs for Catholic Truths\\\" (2009), \\\"The Quotable Newman\\\" (editor: 2012), and \\\"Proving the Catholic Faith is Biblical\\\" (2015). He is co-author (with Dr. Paul Thigpen) of the inserts for \\\"The New Catholic Answer Bible\\\" (Our Sunday Visitor: 2005), and editor for \\\"The Wisdom of Mr. Chesterton: The Very Best Quotes, Quips, and Cracks from the Pen of G. K. Chesterton\\\" (Saint Benedict Press \/ TAN Books: 2009). \\\"100 Biblical Arguments Against Sola Scriptura\\\" was published by Catholic Answers in May 2012. His \\\"Quotable Wesley\\\" compilation was published by (Protestant \/ Wesleyan publisher) Beacon Hill Press in April 2014. Several of his 49 books are bestsellers in their field. Dave maintains a popular personal Facebook page, a Facebook author page, and has a Twitter account as well. He offers almost all of his books in e-book form on his own Biblical Catholicism site (http:\/\/biblicalcatholicism.com\/), at a permanent deep discount: only $2.99 for ePub, mobi, and AZW, and $1.99 for PDF. His writing has been enthusiastically endorsed or recommended by many leading Catholic apologists, authors, and priests, including Dr. Scott Hahn, Fr. Peter M. J. Stravinskas, Marcus Grodi, Patrick Madrid, Steve Ray, Tim Staples, Devin Rose, Mike Aquilina, Al Kresta, Karl Keating, Fr. Dwight Longenecker, Brandon Vogt, Marcellino D'Ambrosio, and Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J. Dave has been happily married to his wife Judy since October 1984. They have three sons and a daughter, and reside in southeast Michigan (metro Detroit).\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/biblicalcatholicism.com\/\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dave.armstrong.798\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@LuxVeritatisApologetics\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/author\/davearmstrong\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"SCOTUS Decision on Homelessness: Highlights","description":"Highlights from the Supreme Court case regarding homeless encampments: City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. 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Formerly a campus missionary, as a Protestant, Dave was received into the Catholic Church in February 1991, by the late, well-known catechist and theologian, Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J. Dave\u2019s articles have appeared in many influential Catholic periodicals, including \"This Rock\" (now called \"Catholic Answers Magazine\"), \"Envoy Magazine\" (Patrick Madrid), \"The Catholic Answer,\" \"The Coming Home Journal,\" \"Gilbert Magazine\" (American Chesterton Society), and \"The Latin Mass.\" He also writes a featured column for every issue of \"The Michigan Catholic\": published by the archdiocese of Detroit, and was editor for most of the apologetics tracts published by the St. Paul Street Evangelization apostolate. Dave\u2019s apologetics and writing apostolate was the subject of a feature article in the May 2002 issue of \"Envoy Magazine.\" He served as the staff moderator at the Internet discussion forum for The Coming Home Network, from 2007-2010. Dave has been interviewed on many nationally syndicated Catholic radio shows, including \"Catholic Answers Live\" (twice), \"Faith and Family Live\" (Steve Wood), \"Kresta in the Afternoon,\" \"Son Rise Morning Show,\" \"Catholic Connection\" (Teresa Tomeo), and \"The Catholics Next Door.\" His large and popular website, \"Biblical Evidence for Catholicism,\" was online from March 1997 to March 2007, and received the 1998 Catholic Website of the Year award from \"Envoy Magazine.\" His blog of the same name (now transferred to Patheos), begun in February 2004, contains more than 1,500 papers, at least 500 debates or dialogues, and over 50 distinct \"index\" web pages. Unsolicited correspondence has indicated many hundreds of conversions (or returns) to the Catholic faith as a result, by God's grace, of these writings. Dave's conversion story was published in the bestselling book \"Surprised by Truth\" (edited by Patrick Madrid; San Diego: Basilica Press, 1994). Sophia Institute Press has published six of his books: \"A Biblical Defense of Catholicism\" (Foreword by Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J., 1996 \/ 2003), \"The Catholic Verses\" (2004), \"The One-Minute Apologist\" (2007), \"Bible Proofs for Catholic Truths\" (2009), \"The Quotable Newman\" (editor: 2012), and \"Proving the Catholic Faith is Biblical\" (2015). He is co-author (with Dr. Paul Thigpen) of the inserts for \"The New Catholic Answer Bible\" (Our Sunday Visitor: 2005), and editor for \"The Wisdom of Mr. Chesterton: The Very Best Quotes, Quips, and Cracks from the Pen of G. K. Chesterton\" (Saint Benedict Press \/ TAN Books: 2009). \"100 Biblical Arguments Against Sola Scriptura\" was published by Catholic Answers in May 2012. His \"Quotable Wesley\" compilation was published by (Protestant \/ Wesleyan publisher) Beacon Hill Press in April 2014. Several of his 49 books are bestsellers in their field. Dave maintains a popular personal Facebook page, a Facebook author page, and has a Twitter account as well. He offers almost all of his books in e-book form on his own Biblical Catholicism site (http:\/\/biblicalcatholicism.com\/), at a permanent deep discount: only $2.99 for ePub, mobi, and AZW, and $1.99 for PDF. His writing has been enthusiastically endorsed or recommended by many leading Catholic apologists, authors, and priests, including Dr. Scott Hahn, Fr. Peter M. J. Stravinskas, Marcus Grodi, Patrick Madrid, Steve Ray, Tim Staples, Devin Rose, Mike Aquilina, Al Kresta, Karl Keating, Fr. Dwight Longenecker, Brandon Vogt, Marcellino D'Ambrosio, and Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J. Dave has been happily married to his wife Judy since October 1984. They have three sons and a daughter, and reside in southeast Michigan (metro Detroit).","sameAs":["https:\/\/biblicalcatholicism.com\/","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dave.armstrong.798","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@LuxVeritatisApologetics"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/author\/davearmstrong"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84705","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2331"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84705"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84705\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/84714"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84705"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84705"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84705"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}