Judge blocks enforcement of homeless feeding ban

Mayor Nutter's plan to take distribution of free food to homeless people out of the parks to the front of City Hall and, ultimately, indoors was blocked this morning by a federal judge.

Ruling from the bench after two days of testimony and an hour of oral argument, U.S. District Judge William H. Yohn said he saw no evidence feeding homeless people outside City Hall was any better or more dignified than on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.

"It seems to me that . . . the parks provide more dignity than the concrete apron outside City Hall," Yohn said.

Full article

Way to go, Judge Yohn! I applaud you! Trying to make it a criminal activity to give food to the homeless in a public park is absolutely ridiculous.

Why in the world would one want to feed the homeless in front of city hall, especially if you lived in a large city? Uh, excuse me sir/madam, are you here for the soup or to get a building permit? NEXXXXT. Crazy!

I, also, like the idea of feeding the hungry in the city or wherever they are. There was one paragraph in the story that made me wonder a little:

But the judge made it clear that his intention is to block enforcement for at least a year to give the city and representatives of various religious and secular homeless service providers the chance to create a long-term solution that would end distributing food to the homeless in public.

So it sounds as though there is a push to get the hungry indoors, away from the public view.

Or maybe the US government should stop funding a gaziilion dollar war, stop funding terrorist israel, stop giving money away to bailout corporations, and use that money to get these people jobs so they can feed themselves...

hmmmmm.... never mind, common sense doesn't have any place in politics...

reply to post by Magnum007


Ameen!! I don't think I could have said it much better.