Activists with the group Food Not Bombs, a national grassroots anti-war and homeless advocacy organization that Abbott is a part of, are suing the city for what they believe is an unconstitutional ordinance restricting “food distribution” to specific areas.
— Erika C. Pesantes (@epesantes) November 29, 2014
Food Not Bombs demands they be allowed to hold weekly demonstrations promoting social justice, which would include giving food to those in need.
Abbot said, “you cannot sweep the homeless under a rug…. There is no rug large enough for that.”
The nonprofit firm Southern Legal Counsel told The Nation that the group is right.
“Food Not Bombs protests are political actions.” said head counsel Kirsten Clanton. “They believe that our society can end hunger and poverty if our resources are directed from the military and war towards meeting basic human needs, like food…. they share food with anyone who is hungry, as an expression of that political message. And the city has now said that is now a crime.”
The lawsuit claims that the ordinance is a de facto ban on helping those in need.
“The Park Rule requires ‘written agreement’ to share food, but lacks any process to obtain it or standards to guide decisions about whether to grant or deny permission and under what conditions. Revealing the lack of even any rational basis for this regulation, the same park rules allow picnics to take place without City permission.”
Abbott was arrested, along with Christian Pastor Dwayne Black and priest Mark Sims, for serving food to the homeless in November. “Chef Abbott,” as he’s known by many, had been cooking and distributing food to the needy for more than two decades.
