El Cajon police officers arrested about a dozen people for feeding the homeless at a city park Sunday afternoon.
The event was organized by a group called Break the Ban, which formed after the El Cajon City Council unanimously passed an emergency ordinance in October prohibiting the distribution of food on any city-owned property.
City officials said the ordinance was a way to protect the public from hepatitis A, but critics have called it a punitive measure to dehumanize and criminalize the homeless.
Mark Lane, one of the event’s organizers, said about 12 to 15 people were passing out food and toiletries to the homeless at Wells Park on East Madison Avenue when police arrived.
About 40 more people, including several lawyers, also were there, but not actively passing out food. Some of those carried signs that had slogans like “Feeding the hungry is not a crime.”
While the event was intended to feed members of the homeless, it was also part of the group’s plan to legally contest the ordinance.
“It was absolutely necessary to break this law until they were willing to enforce it, and, now that they have, we will continue this fight in court,” said another organizer, Shane Parmely.
Click here to continue reading…
SOURCE: Lyndsay Winkley
The San Diego Union-Tribune
BCNN1 WP 