Mercer Island, USA - Clergy on Mercer Island say the city's new rules about the roving homeless encampment known as Tent City violate their religious freedoms.
The Mercer Island city council voted for a measure requiring churches hosting Tent City on their property to ensure the encampment conducts sex-offender and arrest warrant checks on its residents. The council also voted to require that when Tent City moves, it must wait 18 months before returning to the same site. The encampment's host must also enforce bans on alcohol and drugs.
The Mercer Island Clergy Association says the rules infringe on the right of churches to minister to the homeless. Mayor Jim Pearman says the ordinance could be reconsidered.