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Court Tosses Las Vegas Ban on Feeding Homeless

By Jeralyn, Section Civil Liberties
Posted on Tue Nov 21, 2006 at 11:51:22 AM EST
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In July, I wrote about the absurd law passed by the Las Vegas city council prohibiting people from providing food for the homeless in city parks. It was intended to affect soup kitchens. The penalty was up to six months in jail and a $1,000. fine.

How was someone determined to be homeless? By their appearance.

The law defines a homeless person as an indigent "whom a reasonable ordinary person would believe to be entitled to apply for or receive assistance."

So the test was whether someone looks poor enough to be on welfare. Classic discrimination based on appearance.

A federal judge has now thrown out the law, issuing an injunction against its enforcement pending his final ruling.

The judge said you can't just ban providing food to people who look poor," said Lee Rowland, the ACLU lawyer who argued the case. She said the key fault in the city ordinance was that it made distinctions among people based on their appearance.

Surprisingly, to me, Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman is a big supporter of the law, which the city intends to revise to pass constitutional muster:

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman said handouts discourage homeless people from seeking help from social service providers set up to handle mental health and substance abuse problems. Neighbors had complained of large numbers of homeless people congregating at downtown parks, drawn by groups providing meals.

Adds the city's lawyer Brad Jerbic:

"We didn't outlaw vagrancy, indigency or homelessness," Jerbic said, adding that the possible fine of up to $1,000 was designed to discourage behavior, not punish people.

"What we did is make it an offense to set up a mobile soup kitchen in a park, attracting large numbers of indigents and stranding them without any social services," Jerbic said.

Out of sight, out of mind?

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    Court Tosses Las Vegas Ban on Feeding Homeless | 4 comments (4 topical)

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    they had to know...................... (none / 0) (#1)
    by cpinva on Tue Nov 21, 2006 at 12:01:51 PM EST
    this wouldn't pass judicial scrutiny. if they didn't, their lawyer should be replaced. that said, maybe those opposed should just go to city parks, dressed in their holloween tramp costumes, and start handing food to one another. once in court, they show they're nice, middle class folks, and start suing the city for false arrest, etc.

    hey, it's a thought. :)

    Oh, Lordy, we sure don't want to be... (none / 0) (#2)
    by Bill Arnett on Tue Nov 21, 2006 at 01:10:21 PM EST
    ...feedin' poor people now, do we?

    I think statutes such as these are inspired by a republican-type attitude that it is "every man/woman for him/herself" and the arrogance of the better off or well-to-do in not wanting to have to even SEE the homeless that are that way, in many cases, because of their selfish attitudes in passing laws that discriminate against them.

    My god, how can any reasonable person object to caring for the least among us? Why is it that cities with PUBLIC parks can deny accessibility to anyone and prohibit feeding the poor?

    Statutes such as this are abominable and just another sign that civilization and human nature are changing for the worse.

    feeding the pigeons (none / 0) (#3)
    by Jen M on Tue Nov 21, 2006 at 02:35:58 PM EST
    on the other hand, is perfectly legal.

    Can you give a homeless person a sandwich with the understanding that he will feed the pigeons for you?

    Indigents (none / 0) (#4)
    by JSN on Tue Nov 21, 2006 at 03:17:57 PM EST
    Indigents in Iowa (and I suppose other states) can apply for a public defender or for support for emergency room treatment. In the case of a public defender the decision is made by a judge and a State agency rules on the cases requiring emergency medical care. The criteria used are primarily financial.

    In many communities the indigents are well known to police and community service providers so the very idea of using appearance as a criteria is goofy.

    Some communities have established tracking systems aimed at helping keep the indigents out of the clutches of the criminal justice/injustice system. My guess is that such tracking systems save money in reducing court case loads, jail intakes (most indigent arrestees are released the next day unless they get 30 days in jail for repeat public intox) and they make the delivery of services to the indigent more effective.

    The Las Vegas approach is purely punative based on the assumption that the indigents can pick up their bed and walk any time they want to.

    Court Tosses Las Vegas Ban on Feeding Homeless | 4 comments (4 topical)

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