ACLU lawyers say camping is so central to Colorado鈥檚 culture that 鈥榗amping bans鈥� should be illegal. Will a judge agree?

In The NoCo

ACLU lawyers say camping is so central to Colorado鈥檚 culture that 鈥榗amping bans鈥� should be illegal. Will a judge agree?

By In The NoCo,

Published June 3, 2025 at 5:40 AM MDT

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A man wearing a blazer and button down shirt smiles at the camera. — Tim Macdonald, legal director for the ACLU, said "Colorado has a long rich tradition of people sleeping outside, covering themselves with blankets or or buffalo hides, and sleeping in tents. And that's important for our courts to understand and recognize when we consider the long rich tradition in Colorado of sleeping outside."

A caught our attention recently here at In The NoCo. It鈥檚 about rules banning people experiencing homelessness from sleeping in public places in Boulder.

The recent court filing by the ACLU of Colorado argues that camping is so fundamental to the culture and history of Colorado that cities should not be allowed to punish people who camp in public.

The filed that brief to fight a recent ruling that said the city of Boulder can ticket or arrest people for sleeping outdoors. So-called 鈥渃amping bans鈥� like the one in Boulder are used by cities across the country. And they鈥檝e been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.

So how did the ACLU of Colorado decide to build an argument around the state鈥檚 camping culture, and how likely is it to win?

Host Erin O鈥橳oole spoke with , legal director of the ACLU of Colorado, to talk about why the group wants to end camping bans.

For more coverage on the recent filing read the .

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In The NoCo

萝莉少女's In The NoCo is a daily slice of stories, news, people and issues. It's a window to the communities along the Colorado Rocky Mountains. The show brings context and insight to the stories of the day, often elevating unheard voices in the process. And because life in Northern Colorado is a balance of work and play, we celebrate the lighter side of things here, too.

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Ariel Lavery

Ariel Lavery grew up in Louisville, Colorado and has returned to the Front Range after spending over 25 years moving around the country. She co-created the podcast Middle of Everywhere for WKMS, Murray State University鈥檚 NPR member station, and won Public Media Journalism awards in every season she produced for Middle of Everywhere. Her most recent series project is "The Burn Scar", published with The Modern West podcast. In it, she chronicles two years of her family鈥檚 financial and emotional struggle following the loss of her childhood home in the Marshall Fire.

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Erin O'Toole

As the host of 萝莉少女鈥檚 new program and podcast In the NoCo, I work closely with our producers and reporters to bring context and diverse perspectives to the important issues of the day. Northern Colorado is such a diverse and growing region, brimming with history, culture, music, education, civic engagement, and amazing outdoor recreation. I love finding the stories and voices that reflect what makes NoCo such an extraordinary place to live.

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Brad Turner

Brad Turner is an executive producer in 萝莉少女's newsroom. He manages the podcast team that makes In The NoCo, which also airs weekdays in Morning Edition and All Things Considered. His work as a podcaster and journalist has appeared on NPR's Weekend Edition, NPR Music, the PBS Newshour, Colorado Public Radio, MTV Online, the Denver Post, Boulder's Daily Camera, and the Longmont Times-Call.

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