# Feeding the Homeless is Against the Law **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 25, 2013, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feeding-the-homeless-is-against-the-law/667152 "2013-08-25T20:27:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feeding-the-homeless-is-against-the-law/667152/1 "2013-08-25T20:27:32Z")
in Raleigh, North Carolina. I swear, I am not making this up! [http://lovewins.info/2013/08/feeding-homeless-apparently-illegal-in-raleigh-nc/](http://lovewins.info/2013/08/feeding-homeless-apparently-illegal-in-raleigh-nc/) > [@](#): > > …Today officers from Raleigh Police Department prevented us from doing our work, for the first time ever. An officer said, quite bluntly, that if we attempted to distribute food, we would be arrested… Are you _fucking_ kidding me? As many of you may have guessed, I am not a churchly man, but Jesus is my number one favorite Jewboy of all time, beating even Kinky Friedman by a mile. And even if pretty much everything he said was just a cover of all the stuff said by all the Major Dudes ever, still… > [@](#): > > …Now, however, we are hearing that we can’t distribute food at the park, period. No representative from the Raleigh Police Department was willing to tell us which ordinance we were breaking, or why, after six years and countless friendly and cooperative encounters with the Department, they are now preventing us from feeding hungry people. > > When I asked the officer why, he said that he was not going to debate me. “I am just telling you what is. Now you pass out that food, you will go to jail.”… Nobody made the decision, it just got made, somehow. Immaculate, without fingerprints. Uh-huh. Right. Sure. Hugh Betcha. Sweet Jesus, avatar of love and mercy, would shove His foot so far up your ass you would be tasting sandal for a week! But let us end on a hopeful note… > [@](#): > > … **What We Will Do** > > Simple: we will feed people… Here endeth the lesson. ---
**Author:** ![ZebraShaSha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/eada6e/32.png) [@ZebraShaSha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZebraShaSha)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feeding-the-homeless-is-against-the-law/667152/2 "2013-08-25T20:40:39Z")
I’ve been involved with organizations like that before, especially Food Not Bombs (in NC, even), and it can get insane what you “can and cannot” do at times. But I’ve never been told I COULDN’T feed someone – that’s insane. Closest I can come is that in Austin, there’s this huge push from the city to bring in these huge events - Formula 1, SXSW, etc etc - so they want to “cleanup” the homeless to make the city seem… more civilized? Anyway, for awhile they had this push where they were trying to prevent anyone from sitting or laying on sidewalks. One time when I was serving outside the downtown homeless shelter I saw the police come by every 20 minutes or so and force everyone to stand up or be taken to jail. No idea what they were supposed to do instead. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feeding-the-homeless-is-against-the-law/667152/3 "2013-08-25T20:41:38Z")
Can you feed people out of your church instead of using the public sidewalks? ---
**Author:** ![raventhief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raventhief/32/4_2.png) [@raventhief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raventhief)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feeding-the-homeless-is-against-the-law/667152/4 "2013-08-25T20:57:32Z")
I don’t understand this. Can the police arrest you without telling you the law you are breaking? The post indicates that the police wouldn’t say what ordinance was being broken - if they can’t or won’t say what law is broken, how can they arrest you? “You’re under arrest because I say so”? ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feeding-the-homeless-is-against-the-law/667152/5 "2013-08-25T21:39:06Z")
Nothing out of North Carolina surprises me anymore… ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feeding-the-homeless-is-against-the-law/667152/6 "2013-08-25T21:45:22Z")
[More on this story.](http://www.wral.com/nonprofit-says-it-was-threatened-with-arrest-for-feeding-raleigh-homeless/12815894/) ---
**Author:** ![get\_lives](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@get\_lives](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/get_lives)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feeding-the-homeless-is-against-the-law/667152/7 "2013-08-25T21:48:33Z")
I’m actually from NC, and I was arguing with a dumbass on facebook about this earlier today. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feeding-the-homeless-is-against-the-law/667152/8 "2013-08-25T21:49:25Z")
[North Carolina is going down the toilet.](http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/10/opinion/the-decline-of-north-carolina.html?_r=0) {New York Times article. Clicking may affect your monthly quota.} Essentially: > [@](#): > > Republicans took control of both the executive and legislative branches for the first time since Reconstruction. Since then, state government has become a demolition derby, tearing down years of progress in public education, tax policy, racial equality in the courtroom and access to the ballot. And more. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feeding-the-homeless-is-against-the-law/667152/9 "2013-08-25T21:52:51Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > [More on this story.](http://www.wral.com/nonprofit-says-it-was-threatened-with-arrest-for-feeding-raleigh-homeless/12815894/) > [@](#): > > …It wasn’t immediately clear Sunday how long the ordinance has been in place or why it hadn’t been enforced until recently… No fingerprints, no signatures, nobody did anything, it just sort of happened. Well, now, isn’t that something! ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feeding-the-homeless-is-against-the-law/667152/10 "2013-08-25T21:54:17Z")
Are you allowed to have a picnic at the park? Can you not invite whomever you wish to your picnic? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feeding-the-homeless-is-against-the-law/667152/11 "2013-08-25T22:01:09Z")
Few loaves of bread. Couple of fish. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feeding-the-homeless-is-against-the-law/667152/12 "2013-08-25T22:19:36Z")
It’s been against the law here in Las Vegas since 2006. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feeding-the-homeless-is-against-the-law/667152/13 "2013-08-25T22:21:11Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > [North Carolina is going down the toilet.](http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/10/opinion/the-decline-of-north-carolina.html?_r=0) {New York Times article. Clicking may affect your monthly quota.} > > Essentially:And more. The article Czarcasm linked says they were enforcing a city ordinance, so it has nothing to do with State level assholery. > [@elucidator](#): > > As many of you may have guessed, I am not a churchly man, but Jesus is my number one favorite Jewboy of all time, beating even Kinky Friedman by a mile. I really don’t get why anyone thinks you are remotely amusing, let alone “pithy”. I am sure your forthcoming “pithy” puns will show me. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feeding-the-homeless-is-against-the-law/667152/14 "2013-08-25T22:21:56Z")
> [@voltaire](#): > > Are you allowed to have a picnic at the park? Can you not invite whomever you wish to your picnic? Eh, handing out food to anyone who shows up isn’t picnicking. I don’t really have a problem if the town decides they don’t want that happening in a public park. Towns have all sorts of zoning and ordinances regulating what kind of activities can be done where. But it sounds like the town went about it in the least friendly, most passive-aggressive way possible. Whoever actually made the decision should’ve contacted the Church ahead of time, told them of the change and worked with them to make other arrangements. Sending some random cops on the morning of to tell people who’ve already started setting up their operation that they can’t do what they’ve been doing for the past six years, and not tell them why or who decided that, is just pointlessly dickish. ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feeding-the-homeless-is-against-the-law/667152/15 "2013-08-25T22:55:11Z")
Many people enjoy feeding the homeless because they believe they are helping the homeless survive. However, providing the homeless with a steady, human-supplied food source nearly always leads to problems for both the homeless and humans. Homeless who are used to being fed by humans commonly lose their fear of people. Homeless who are unafraid of people will approach them for food, and are sometimes mistaken as rabid, aggressive or mean. They also become easy targets for kids with BB guns and others who mean them harm. An instinctive wariness of people is important to homeless survival. A constant, human-provided food source may attract many more homeless to the area than would normally be found there. Who doesn’t like a free meal? When food is readily available, homeless will gather in abnormally large numbers. This means that if a homeless in the group has an illness or disease, it can spread throughout the group. This is one way to limit diseases among a wild population. By gathering these homeless together in unnatural groups, these diseases can spread much more quickly. Reproduction rates may also be affected when an artificial food source is readily available. In the wild, the number of homeless being born is often directly related to the amount of natural food available. The number of homeless surviving will also depend on how much food is available. This is nature’s way of keeping a balance. When an unnatural food supply becomes available, homeless may produce more young and soon there may be more homeless living in the area than what the natural food sources can support. It is an unfortunate fact of modern life that humans are encroaching into the habitats homeless have traditionally called home, but with thoughtful conservation, humans and the homeless can peacefully co-exist. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feeding-the-homeless-is-against-the-law/667152/16 "2013-08-25T22:57:47Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > I really don’t get why anyone thinks you are remotely amusing, let alone “pithy”. I am sure your forthcoming “pithy” puns will show me. Well, he’s got that helmet, for one thing. Aye, that’ll show ya! ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feeding-the-homeless-is-against-the-law/667152/17 "2013-08-25T23:02:09Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > [More on this story.](http://www.wral.com/nonprofit-says-it-was-threatened-with-arrest-for-feeding-raleigh-homeless/12815894/) I liked this line: _“Mayor Nancy McFarlane said in a statement on her Facebook page that neither she nor City Council were involved in the decision to prevent groups from feeding the homeless in Moore Square.”_ Really? You’re the Mayor and the City Council and you were not involved in the enactment of an ordinance? How does that work in Raleigh? Do they just let random people edit the city ordinances like a wiki? Mayor McFarlane went on to say: _“Raleigh is a progressive city that believes in the values of each of its citizens. We are so fortunate to have dedicated citizens that want to reach out to those in need. We will be taking this issue into the Law and Public Safety Committee immediately to bring all the partners together for a transparent discussion to work out a plan to address the questions surrounding this issue.”_ It would have been easier to report the Mayor said nothing. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feeding-the-homeless-is-against-the-law/667152/18 "2013-08-25T23:10:51Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > No fingerprints, no signatures, nobody did anything, it just sort of happened. Well, now, isn’t that something! There was a hint in the story with a mention of developers. I’m guessing the Raleigh city government recently made a lucrative deal with some real estate developers who are looking to make a profit “revitalizing” downtown. As part of it, the politicians agreed to have the police chase out the poor people. No doubt they assumed nobody would care anymore about poor people then they do and were surprised to find out that some people take Christianity seriously. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feeding-the-homeless-is-against-the-law/667152/19 "2013-08-25T23:19:04Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > …thinks you are remotely amusing… I don’t either, but it \*does \*seem the further away I am, the better they like me. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feeding-the-homeless-is-against-the-law/667152/20 "2013-08-25T23:29:33Z")
[Totally aside]: So, quoting **CarmelKorn** , I notice that he coded something as “white” text and it didn’t show up on my monitor. I’m wondering if that happens to everybody? How can you tell a blonde has been using your word processor? White Out all over the monitor. Thudabump _ting!_ [/TA] [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feeding-the-homeless-is-against-the-law/667152.md?page=2)