According to AP, the City Council of Las Vegas has made it illegal to give food to homeless people in city parks.
The City Council wants to ban charity that is having unintended consequences. And what are those unintended consequences?
It seems some of the homeless are urinating and defecating in front of the residents surrounding the park. The City Council should deal with such people for being more than an eyesore and allow the others to be fed.
The City Council's law, which went into effect on Thursday, targets so-called "mobile soup kitchens," that provide food the homeless. It carries a maximum penalty of a $1,000 fine and six months in jail.
A city spokesman said that by shutting down such soup kitchens, homeless people will be encouraged to go to a center or charity that offers services such as mental health evaluations or job placement.
It appears that the homeless have become the scorn of society here. They are worse off than prisoners, who the state locks up for committing crimes but yet feeds them. The affluent residents who can't bear the sight of the the homeless and poorest may well feel that they are milking their society.
American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada lawyer Allen Lichtenstein said the language makes the law unenforceable.
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.”
“It means they can discriminate based on the way people look,” Lichtenstein said.
You would think that Las Vegas, the popular hoilday and gambling destination ought be able to handle the plight of their homeless and downtrodden better than this.
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