Criminal tools
Living in Vegas myself, I see the homeless all over. But this is just stupid. If they’re homeless, they aren’t going to be able to pay to get out of town and walking 100 miles through the desert in 100 degree temps to go somewhere less hostle ain’t gonna happen either.
Las Vegas Criminalizes Feeding the Homeless in Parks
What an outrage! Las Vegas has made it a crime to give food to the homeless in city parks. Primarily aimed at soup kitchens, the law carries a penalty of up to six months in jail and a $1,000.00 fine.
In an effort to curb charity that is having unintended consequences, the City Council has made it illegal to give food to homeless people in city parks. Residents complained that the large numbers of homeless gathering in the parks make it impossible for others to use them, said city spokesman David Riggleman.
Not only that, but check out the definition of “homeless person.”
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.”
So the test is whether someone looks poor enough to be on welfare?
American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada lawyer Allen Lichtenstein said the lanuage makes the law unenforceable. “The ordinance is clearly unconstitutional and nonsensical,” he said. “How are you going to know without a financial statement who’s poor and who’s not poor?” “It means they can discriminate based on the way people look,” Lichtenstein said.
“Residents complained that the large numbers of homeless gathering in the parks make it impossible for others to use them, said city spokesman David Riggleman.”
Damn those poor people! They’re always so inconvenient! Thank God there are smart people who give their money and aid to worthy recipients like those down-on-their-luck casinos.
So they can think of no better solution to poverty than to imprison people who try to help them out. Wow. thats sad.
I personally dislike the fact that a soup kitchen near my office attracts some of the craziest and wacked out people in town. The men scare the women in our building and the women have been downright scary…
But to put in place a law to prevent such charity work is outrageous. Definitely “sin city”…
Vegas should establish an official shelter, What with all the money they’re raking in, then encourage the public to volunteer and donate. Yeesh… apparently “up” is “down” in the law-making realm. I guess that’s what happens when your head’s stuffed up your a**. Things must get quite confusing.
That law defining a homeless person is so vague and unenforcable I wonder if it was meant to placate some rich, complaining voters and then be thrown out of court. jh
“It means they can discriminate based on the way people look,” Lichtenstein said.
Gasp.. oh no! Not PROFILING!
I agree, punishing those trying to help is idiotic.
The answer is simple: Boycott Vegas.
Oh, never mind. It will never happen.
I just moved from vegas to the Dallas area. I was amazed when i moved here and there wasnt herds of homeless people on most streetcorners and bus stops. Vegas needs to do something besides shuffle these people around and bust up their shanty towns. I didnt mind giving out a dollar or two a day on my way to/from work, but i’ll say, it is nice NOT being hit up in every parking lot and traffic light for change for once.
Everyone in Vegas, dress poorly and conglomerate around EVERY G** ****ED PARK you can find in protest! Prove that they can’t tell the homeless from the well-to-do by their own ignorant definition! This is an outrage!
There is a mindset that places the almighty tourist on a pedestal (and by extension the dollar) and they must be shielded from such ugliness as vagrants, junk yards or even unkempt residential areas. Vegas undoubtably carries this to an extreme do the fact that their tourists come well heeled and the plan is to separate the guest and his/her money and send them on their way, poorer but no wiser. Of course, some of these “homeless” are probably former guests who, after their fleecing, lacked the means to return home. In which case, Vegas deserves them.
comment #8 is from the *other* Joshua. Not the 23 y/o one in California/Arizona and is a conservative……lol
Cities do this all the time, only usually they hide it behind eminent domain laws using phrases like ‘urban blight’ and ‘community development.’
On sundays I go feed the homeless in the park with my grand parents.
#10: There are stories of people who busted out here in Vegas and ended up not leaving. Many become homeless for a while. This could be crap, but I think one future casino owner supposedly started like this.
#11 joshua: you might want to modify your screen name to something else. How about NotTheOtherJoshua?
Funny, that comment about putting the tourist up on a pedestal. In Hawaii it is much the same thing with very little in the way of support, shelter, or services. The homeless got kicked out of the parks, the streets, and now there are many living on the west side of O’ahu. I think a lot of it has to do with tourism and a lot of it also has to do with the nimbys. So what happens? Make a new batch of rules stating it’s illegal to be in the park after a certain time, make new bus benches with these stupid little dividers so they can’t be used to lie down on, make it everybody’s problem by putting it on the news and then do nothing. Do nothing until it gets to be a big enough problem for someone to complain about again.
Please do not feed the homeless?
Shame on you Uncle Sam!!
Whatever happened to common decency and compassion?
Vegas needs to do something besides shuffle these people around and bust up their shanty towns. I didnt mind giving out a dollar or two a day on my way to/from work