Thread: Police charge 90-year-old man, 2 pastors with feeding homeless

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -

Fort Lauderdale police charged three men -- including two pastors and a 90-year-old man -- for feeding the homeless in public on Sunday, the first such cases made by the city after the a new ordinance effectively banning public food sharings took effect Friday.

The first to be charged was homeless advocate Arnold Abbott, 90, who has been feeding the homeless in Fort Lauderdale for more than 20 years. Also cited were two Christian ministers -- Dwayne Black, pastor of The Sanctuary Church in Fort Lauderdale, and Mark Sims of St. Mary Magdalene Episcopal Church in Coral Springs.

All three men face up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.

"One of the police officers said, 'Drop that plate right now,' as if I were carrying a weapon," said Abbott, who runs a nonprofit group called Love Thy Neighbor, Inc. "It's man's inhumanity to man is all it is."

In 1999, the city tried to stop Abbott from feeding the homeless on Fort Lauderdale Beach, prompting a lawsuit from Abbott, which he won. Now he said he will fight the municipal ordinance charge and be forced to take the city back to court.

"I'm going to have to go to court again and sue the city of Fort Lauderdale -- a beautiful city," said Abbott. "These are the poorest of the poor, they have nothing, they don't have a roof over their heads. How do you turn them away?"

Abbott said he won't turn them away and is planning to bring food to the beach this Wednesday evening with the expectation that he may be hit with another charge.

"I don't do things to purposefully aggravate the situation," said Abbott. "I'm trying to work with the city. Any human has the right to help his fellow man."

http://www.local10.com/news/police-c...eless/29510268

Wow....What is wrong with people?

This link gives the city's reasoning.

"The new ordinance establishes new restrictions on food sharing. For example, if people want to feed the homeless in Fort Lauderdale, they now have to have a state certified food manager in attendance and provide port-a-potties....

The new ordinance comes after the city recently passed laws to outlaw storage of personal belongings in public places and toughened laws against going to the bathroom in public, despite a dearth of public restrooms the homeless can use. Homeless advocate Raymond Del Papa says it's part of a sure-to-fail attempt by the commission to drive the homeless from the city.

"They think by creating these ordinances it's going to force the homeless to move elsewhere," Del Papa said."


When I read your post I thought it was a joke! But obviously not....greed and the pride of life are alive and well on planet earth.

There has to be a balance. I can understand the city not wanting homeless people congregating in tourist areas. You can make a case that it is selfish, but when people are visiting and spending money in your town, you don't want to chase them off with hordes of panhandlers. On the other hand, you don't want people to be hungry. Maybe these groups could work with the city to find someplace they could use as a make-shift soup kitchen. In the county I grew up in, they have a rotating schedule of church kitchens that act as soup kitchens.

I actually think it's a good idea for homeless advocates to provide and maintain portable toilets for the homeless. That is a real need.

We are supposed to treat people the way we'd want to be treated. That includes the Homeless.

Are the muslims feeding the homeless there?

Originally Posted by Susan

There has to be a balance. I can understand the city not wanting homeless people congregating in tourist areas. You can make a case that it is selfish, but when people are visiting and spending money in your town, you don't want to chase them off with hordes of panhandlers. On the other hand, you don't want people to be hungry. Maybe these groups could work with the city to find someplace they could use as a make-shift soup kitchen. In the county I grew up in, they have a rotating schedule of church kitchens that act as soup kitchens.

I actually think it's a good idea for homeless advocates to provide and maintain portable toilets for the homeless. That is a real need.

Good post, I agree...I can see both sides of this issue.

Originally Posted by Susan

Are the muslims feeding the homeless there?

They only feed those that agree with them... if they feed an infidel, they'll probably make them cough up the food if they don't convert to islam... either that or beat them real good out back

The legal point that needs to be made is islam is getting special treatment by the government which violates the Constitution and we need to use all legal tactics to tie things up in court as much as possible.

When government at all levels see their legal costs going way up... they'll start letting Christians have some of their freedoms back.

Besides... the cheapest way to get homeless people out of town is going around asking them if they like to smoke the weed... many of them do, so offer them a one way bus ticket to Colorado!

They state is bragging about increased tax revenue, so great... we'll send some homeless folks yo ways! They're all flush with cash, so they need something to do with it... may as well help out a fellow dope smoker! Actually, I've heard this in the news that Colorado's homeless population is growing bigger and bigger.

Seriously... if I were on a city council, I'd bring this up since many dope smokin homeless folks are dreaming of moving to Colorado anyway so it's a win win.

I'd go negotiate a cut rate deal with Greyhound Bus Lines since we would be sending them frequent business... and it's a business expense so we can write it off our taxes... another win win!