In March, James Kelly, a 44-year-old Navy veteran, was passing through
Houston, Texas in the USA on his way to connect with family in California. Homeless, destitute,
and hungry, he chose to check out the dining delicacies in a trash bin near City
Hall. Spotted by police, Kelly was promptly charged with "disturbing the
contents of a garbage can in the [central] business district." Seriously.
"I was just basically looking for something to eat," he told the Houston Chronicle. But, unbeknownst to both this indigent tourist and the great
majority of Houston’s generally generous citizens, an ordinance says that "molesting garbage containers" is illegal.
Also, in 2012, city officials made it a crime for any group to hand out food
to the needy in the downtown area without first getting a permit. A permit to commit an act of charity. You know, like Jesus used to. It’s a cold
use of legal authority to chase the homeless away to…well, anywhere else.
Such laws are part of an effort throughout the country to criminalize the destitute. If you're not wealthy you're a loser not a winner. And losers belong behind bars. Such is this truly evil thinking. And, sure enough, when hungry, the behavioral
tendency of a homeless human is to seek a bite of nourishment, often in such
dining spots as dumpsters. The homeless behavior that Houston has outlawed,
then, is eating. Without a permit apparently.
The good news is that when Houstonians learned of Kelly’s situation, many
reached out to help him get through his hard times. Now they need to reach out
to local politicos and get the city to smarten up and find God. Not Satan.
