(Relevant) Last month, just before Thanksgiving, churches and relief organizations in Newark, New Jersey, received a surprising email from city officials, announcing that feeding the homeless in public places would be prohibited. When reached for comment by the New York Times, the city appeared to hedge a bit, saying those wanting to feed the homeless in places like a park or a train station would need to acquire a permit first.
The ordinance the city is working on will prohibit agencies and individuals without a permit from feeding residents without addresses,” a spokeswoman for Mayor Ras Baraka told the Times. “All violators will be ticketed and fined.”
Newark isn’t alone in targeting human charity. At least 17 cities in the U.S. require anyone wanting to feed the hungry to get the city’s approval first, or else ban it altogether, according to the National Homelessness Law Center. But whether or not such bans are Constitutional is a matter of some debate, since courts have ruled that feeding the hungry is a form of speech — meaning it’s protected under the First Amendment. Lawyers have also argued that bans like Newark’s may violate the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause.