Dan Clore
2007-09-29 07:47:08 UTC
News & Views for Anarchists & Activists:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smygo
http://tinyurl.com/yuwdz3
Ban on feeding homeless evades the real problem
Palm Beach Post Editorial
Thursday, September 27, 2007
An advocate for the homeless told West Palm Beach city commissioners
that passing an ordinance to ban feeding the poor at several downtown
sites was like "using a sledgehammer to swat a gnat."
Unfortunately, two commissioners and Mayor Lois Frankel didn't get the
message. On Monday, they passed a measure that prohibits handing out
"food or meals to individuals without charge or for a nominal charge" in
areas around the library or at the Meyer Amphitheater. With Commissioner
Jeri Muoio absent, Mayor Frankel cast the deciding vote, siding with
Commissioners Molly Douglas and Bill Moss. Commissioners Kimberly
Mitchell and Ike Robinson voted no, arguing that the city should delay
action for 30 days and try to negotiate with the advocates for the
homeless to find a better site for feedings.
Commissioners Mitchell and Robinson were right to seek a compromise.
Representatives from the two groups that hand out food near the library
-- Art and Compassion Inc. and Food Not Bombs -- told the commission
they would consider moving to a nearby church or park. Scott Badesch,
president of the United Way of Palm Beach County, offered to help work
out a resolution.
Mayor Frankel rejected the calls for restraint, however, saying the city
had waited and negotiated enough. In fact, the city had not talked
seriously with either group about moving. The mayor said it was
unreasonable to expect the city to solve the homeless problem in 30 days.
But this wasn't about the homeless problem. It was a much narrower issue
about restricting access to specific public areas. The ordinance invites
legal action from the charities and the American Civil Liberties Union,
which argues that banning the feedings infringes on constitutional
freedoms of speech and assembly. Indeed, during her reelection campaign,
the mayor's stump speech trumpeted the downtown as a place where people
of all races and classes could "rub elbows together." When did that change?
The library plaza was designed as a public gathering place for all
people. Merchants' complaints about the behavior of some of the homeless
there are legitimate but can be addressed with a variety of laws already
on the books. There will be homeless people in the downtown whether
advocates feed them or not, and it's up to police to deal with those who
cause trouble. The city should not rush to write new laws when it
doesn't enforce the ones it already has.
West Palm Beach, like most communities, does not do enough to help feed
the hungry or house the homeless. The city should be grateful to work
with charities that are willing to tackle the problems it ignores.
--
Dan Clore
My collected fiction: _The Unspeakable and Others_
http://tinyurl.com/3akhhr
Lord Weÿrdgliffe & Necronomicon Page:
http://www.geocities.com/clorebeast/
News & Views for Anarchists & Activists:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smygo
"Don't just question authority,
Don't forget to question me."
-- Jello Biafra
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smygo
http://tinyurl.com/yuwdz3
Ban on feeding homeless evades the real problem
Palm Beach Post Editorial
Thursday, September 27, 2007
An advocate for the homeless told West Palm Beach city commissioners
that passing an ordinance to ban feeding the poor at several downtown
sites was like "using a sledgehammer to swat a gnat."
Unfortunately, two commissioners and Mayor Lois Frankel didn't get the
message. On Monday, they passed a measure that prohibits handing out
"food or meals to individuals without charge or for a nominal charge" in
areas around the library or at the Meyer Amphitheater. With Commissioner
Jeri Muoio absent, Mayor Frankel cast the deciding vote, siding with
Commissioners Molly Douglas and Bill Moss. Commissioners Kimberly
Mitchell and Ike Robinson voted no, arguing that the city should delay
action for 30 days and try to negotiate with the advocates for the
homeless to find a better site for feedings.
Commissioners Mitchell and Robinson were right to seek a compromise.
Representatives from the two groups that hand out food near the library
-- Art and Compassion Inc. and Food Not Bombs -- told the commission
they would consider moving to a nearby church or park. Scott Badesch,
president of the United Way of Palm Beach County, offered to help work
out a resolution.
Mayor Frankel rejected the calls for restraint, however, saying the city
had waited and negotiated enough. In fact, the city had not talked
seriously with either group about moving. The mayor said it was
unreasonable to expect the city to solve the homeless problem in 30 days.
But this wasn't about the homeless problem. It was a much narrower issue
about restricting access to specific public areas. The ordinance invites
legal action from the charities and the American Civil Liberties Union,
which argues that banning the feedings infringes on constitutional
freedoms of speech and assembly. Indeed, during her reelection campaign,
the mayor's stump speech trumpeted the downtown as a place where people
of all races and classes could "rub elbows together." When did that change?
The library plaza was designed as a public gathering place for all
people. Merchants' complaints about the behavior of some of the homeless
there are legitimate but can be addressed with a variety of laws already
on the books. There will be homeless people in the downtown whether
advocates feed them or not, and it's up to police to deal with those who
cause trouble. The city should not rush to write new laws when it
doesn't enforce the ones it already has.
West Palm Beach, like most communities, does not do enough to help feed
the hungry or house the homeless. The city should be grateful to work
with charities that are willing to tackle the problems it ignores.
--
Dan Clore
My collected fiction: _The Unspeakable and Others_
http://tinyurl.com/3akhhr
Lord Weÿrdgliffe & Necronomicon Page:
http://www.geocities.com/clorebeast/
News & Views for Anarchists & Activists:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smygo
"Don't just question authority,
Don't forget to question me."
-- Jello Biafra