... that's just a little, I don't know, maybe, dehumanizing?
Las Vegas Makes It Illegal to Feed Homeless in Parks
Posted by binky at July 28, 2006 11:30 AM | TrackBack | Posted to Random Thoughtsawful headline regardless, but thoughts on the story:
“I don’t think anybody in America wants people to starve to death,” Mr. Reese said. “But if you want to help somebody, people can go to McDonald’s or Kentucky Fried Chicken and give them a meal.”
starvation is gross; we'd rather they die from congestive heart failure at 45 after spending a decade or so on state-financed insulin.
Las Vegas officials said the ordinance was not aimed at casual handouts from good Samaritans. Instead, they said it would be enforced against people like Ms. Sacco, whose regular offerings, they said, have lured the homeless to parks
[snip]
He said that the police would ignore “isolated cases” of violating the ordinance
"signing statements" anyone? here's an idea. if you don't intend to enforce the law against one of the categories of person plainly encompassed in its language, why not just change the language? oh, that's right, because it never hurts to have some obscure, bullshit rule on the books with which to harrass disfavored parties.
At a June meeting of the City Council, [Mayor] Goodman suggested that panhandlers with signs asking for food be sued for “false advertising” because soup kitchens provide free meals.
evidently the mayor is not a lawyer. or very bright.
Another reason the homeless do not flock to shelters here, Ms. Sacco acknowledged, is that the chronically mentally ill who make up a sizable part of the homeless population typically resist treatment and services.
“I don’t have no money for a bus,” Nalinh Khamsoukthavong, who said he was “about 50,” and gave a rambling explanation of his plight that involved promised help from several people, a visit to his native Laos and a series of deceitful bosses. “I have to walk, and I don’t have food.”
buddy, that's what bootstraps are for.
Posted by: moon at July 28, 2006 02:36 PM | PERMALINK