Court Tosses Las Vegas Ban on Feeding Homeless
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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