LANCASTER, CA— Rex Parris, the Republican Mayor of Lancaster, CA created a major controversy during a city council meeting in February when he provocatively suggested that the city handle it’s ongoing homelessness problem by “give[ing] them free fentanyl… all the fentanyl they want.”
The initial comment sparked a local fervor, but when he doubled down on his remarks speaking with Fox 11 Los Angeles, the story gained national attention.
As reported by the Los Angeles Times, Parris offered the quip in response to objections to a proposal to relocate the city’s homeless to a campground converted from a golf course in February and then reiterated it in an interview with Fox 11 Friday.
Responding to interviewers' questions, Parris began: “I'm assuming you're talking about a meeting that occurred over a month and a half ago, where, you know we were attempting to move the homeless population to an abandoned golf course and use it as a camping ground. And the people that lived near it were obviously not happy with that."
“During the course of the meeting I think I did say that if it were up to me I'd be giving them fentanyl. But I made it very clear I was talking about the criminal element that were let out of the prisons that have now become 40 to 45% of what's referred to as the homeless population. They are responsible for most of our robberies most of our rapes and at least half of our murders. There is nothing that we can do for these people."
“They you know… Lancaster has the most innovative homeless solutions of any city in America. We're very proud of it. We can take care of a lot of people. But, I'm talking about the people that refuse those services. The people that want to camp near your home so that they can burglarize them at night. The people that accost you in the in the store parking lots and intimidate you into giving them money. We call that robbery in a sane society.”
Turning to the policies of the Trump administration, Parris remarked: “You know quite frankly I wish the president would give us a purge,” referring to the 2013 horror film which featured a 12-hour period in which all crime was legal.
He continued: “Because we do need to purge these people. Now is it harsh of course it's harsh but it's my obligation as the mayor of the city of Lancaster to protect the hardworking families that live there and I am no longer able to do it.”
The Mayor cited the depletion of local law enforcement resources in the Northern Los Angeles County community, saying:
“The sheriff's department is 70 deputies down. In our city, the sheriff does not enforce the laws against the homeless population because of the fear of federal lawsuits. It's an untenable situation, and I'm open to any solution, but I want these people out of our city. Well, I don't think anybody took me literally.
In fact, it's so easy to get fentanyl on our streets today that it wouldn't have made any difference if we did give it away. But no, I don't regret saying it. I'm happy that we are focusing the attention on an aspect of this problem that nobody seems to want to look at.”
Parris explained, “These people are killing our citizens. Not a lot of them, but some of them. They have no respect for law and order. They think nothing of kicking in your back doors at night, and the reason I know that is they kicked in my back door on two occasions, and I'm the mayor in a gated community with more than a few security options.”
“It's a problem that is endangering the lives of our citizens, and I think we should treat it that way. I mean, that's why in Lancaster you can get a gun permit in two weeks. We have the most advanced homeless center in America.
I mean it, it'll accommodate hundreds of people, they can work up to living in an apartment that's better than any apartment I ever lived in when I was going to school. The services there deal with their drug issues, deal with their medical issues, deal with their psychological issues. The people I'm talking about are the ones that refuse to go there. You know? Let's quit lumping all of the homeless into one category because they're not. You know?”
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