General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsActivists promise to challenge Houston’s ban on feeding homeless
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/04/06/activists-promise-to-challenge-houstons-ban-on-feeding-homeless/
The Houston City Council voted this week to require prior permission before any citizen may distribute food to five or more people on public property, but local activists are preparing to fight back and hard.
While the ordinance passed Wednesday night by an 11-6 vote was drastically stripped down from the version supported by Houston Mayor Annise Parker, activists say theyre going to challenge it in court and attempt to gather 20,000 signatures over the next month, which should be enough to trigger a city-wide vote on the ordinance in November.
It turns public property into private property, Chris Carmona, a civil rights attorney in Houston and volunteer with the charitable group Noahs Kitchen, told Raw Story on Friday. We already have trespassing laws on the books. We have loitering laws. We have littering laws. But to take public property and turn it private Thats our local governments recent mood. Thats our biggest concern.
The ordinance that passed Wednesday night requires groups to obtain permission from the city before handing out any food, and imposes a fine of $500 for anyone who defies the rule. It also allows the city to designate certain organizations as recognized charitable food providers, which would have to adhere to certain rules mostly pertaining to cleanliness.
Cleita
(75,480 posts)When I was a kid I was told not to feed stray cats. I did anyway. It was the humane thing to do. We are talking about human beings here not stray cats. Fer Chrissakes!
I believe the new answer is: For I was hungry, and you told me to pull myself up by my bootstraps; I was thirsty, and you pissed in My face; I was a stranger, and you told Me to keep moving; naked, and you arrested Me for indecency; I was sick, and you denied my insurance claim; I was in prison, and you threw away the key.
longship
(40,416 posts)They've really jumped off the deep end this year. I fucking cannot believe what I am reading. Just when I thought I have heard the worst, something else pops up that is even worse.
What kind of people are they?
former9thward
(32,082 posts)Out of a total of 17. So it must have been more than Republicans.