An elderly man could face time behind bars after breaking a new law in Fort Lauderdale, Florida that prohibits meal-sharing with the public. The elderly man, Arnold Abbott, has been feeding the homeless people since 1991 with a team of volunteers.
However, because of the new law, the elderly man was arrested and charged along with two ministers of Sanctuary Church, which prepares hundreds of meals to dish out every week in their kitchen.
Mr. Abbott said that “One of police officers came over and said ‘Drop that plate right now,’ as if I was carrying a weapon.”
“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?”
Recently, the Inquisitr reported that another elderly man, Allan Law, spent his nights driving around Minneapolis, giving out sandwiches and basic necessities to the homeless and needy in the area.
The elderly man is facing up to 60 days in jail and a fine of $500 after police officers apprehended him while he was handing out meals to homeless people in a park on Sunday. Nevertheless, the new law will not stop the valiant man from feeding the homeless.
Abbott said that he will not turn the homeless away and is planning to bring food to the beach this Wednesday evening with the expectation that he may be hit with another charge.
In 1999, Mr. Abbott sued the City of Fort Lauderdale after he was banned from feeding the homeless on the beach and the court found that the rule was against the Constitution.
The new law, which has come into effect or is planned to in Seattle, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Dallas, and Philadelphia, was passed last week.
The law purports that citizens are enabling the homeless rather than helping in a worthwhile way.
On March 31, Houston Mayor Annise Parker said on KUHF radio’s Houston Matters show that “making it easier for someone to stay on the streets is not humane” and that groups who give free food to the hungry “keep them on the street longer, which is what happens when you feed them,” while groups were not coordinating efforts.
“You have the same group of homeless people that are fed by three different groups on the same day and yet there are folks on the other side of town who really need the resources. So all we asked was that, would you just please register with the city and we keep a master calendar and make the resources go farther.”
The 90-year-old man started the Love Thy Neighbour foundation in memory of his late wife, Maureen, in order to continue the humanitarian work they both did by regularly making and sharing food at Holiday Park and Fort Lauderdale Beach.
Abbott said, “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.”
Should the elderly man be jailed for feeding the homeless?
[Images via Love Thy Neighbor and the Independent ]