Las Vegas, Nevada and Orlando, Florida now have more in common than their status as balmy tourist destinations. Independently, each municipality has enacted an ordinance in the past week that outlaws feeding the homeless and indigent in public locales such as city parks. In both instances, the bans appear to target humanitarian individuals and groups—such as Food Not Bombs—that operate mobile soup kitchens to provide meals to those who might otherwise go without. For more on the story, I refer you to the following news articles:

• “Feeding homeless outlawed� (Las Vegas Review-Journal, 7/20/06)
• “Eola homeless meals banned� (Orlando Sentinel, 7/25/06)

Legitimate public concerns about health and safety aside (and, presumably, there are existing ordinances to address such), these bans seem decidedly lacking in both compassion and finesse, responding to complex social ills with band-aid solutions that criminalize charity. Not surprisingly, local chapters of the ACLU plan to contest both ordinances. In the interim, it might be helpful to consider contacting the mayors of Las Vegas and Orlando and voicing your disapproval, taking care to mention where you will NOT be spending your vacation dollars anytime soon. Links to make contact are below:

• Mayor Oscar B. Goodman, City of Las Vegas
• Mayor Buddy Dyer, City of Orlando