Dallas, TX — Feeding and clothing the homeless in the land of the free has now become a revolutionary act. Luckily, however, there are still good people willing to carry out that act.
In December 2014, the Dallas city council enacted Ordinance No. 29595, which makes it illegal to serve food to the homeless without jumping through a statist myriad of bureaucratic hoops, including a fee, training classes, and written notices.
One should not need to file multiple forms and pay a fee to obtain a permit to give food to those in need who are willingly ready to accept it. The folks at Don't Comply know this.
Matthew Short, with the aptly named organization, Don't Comply, and dozens of volunteers from children to adults alike took to the streets of Dallas this week to hand out food, sleeping bags, clothing, and tents to the area's less fortunate.
As TFTP has reported on numerous occasions, often times, police will swoop in and shut down those who would dare defy the authority of the state and conduct charity without a permit. However, most organizations aren't like Don't Comply.
As they took to the streets this week, many of the members of the organization open carried their weapons. This was done—not out of an act of intimidation—but merely to assert rights as well as protect them.
The resultant heavily armed group of do-gooders effectively staved off any attempts by police to shut down the charitable efforts.
In talking with TFTP, Short tells us that although police drove by fairly often, they never stopped and never attempted to intervene.
Success.
"We are not complying with a bad law today," Short, who is the PR director of Don't Comply said, echoing the sentiment from all of those in attendance this year. "Evidently the city of Dallas believes that it's wrong, or bad, or unlawful for us to feed more than a certain number of people at a time. But, during Christmas, we want to show love to our community and give these people a chance to survive the winter, whether it be with blankets or coats, or just giving them a holiday party like today with all kinds of cookies, and goodies, turkey and dressing, and the whole nine yards."
Dubbed "Feed the Need 5," this was the fifth year in a row the group has conducted the event.
Below is the most amazing video showing the results of good people breaking bad laws.
As TFTP has reported at length, the war on the homeless, as well as the war on those who want to help them, is relentless. Just last month, during Thanksgiving, a group giving out food in Atlanta was shut down by police because they failed to pay the state for permission to give food to voluntary recipients.
On Friday, TFTP reported on a new law in Kansas—which appears to be a trend across the country—that allows police to fine and even arrest people not for feeding the homeless but for simply giving them money.
Sadly, the state's endless desire to generate revenue and oppress rights has led to a system which requires permits for just about every activity not just feeding the homeless. This permitting process acts as a stranglehold on those trying to make a living—keeping them in a perpetual state of poverty.
In May, the Alameda County Sheriff’s department posted a photo of a deputy arresting a man for selling fruits and vegetables on the roadside and attempted to justify the arrest. When people read the department’s justification, they lashed out — peacefully — to let them know what they were doing is wrong.
In June, a 38-year-old homeless man was attempting to earn some honest money by providing a much-desired service of bicycle repair to the residents of Kennewick, Washington when he was threatened with extortion and arrest by the local police department, which effectively ended his enterprise.
After the Kennewick Police Department threatened the homeless man and prevented him from making a living, they took to Facebook to shamelessly brag about it. The man was told that while it was illegal for him to fix bicycles, he could certainly beg for money.