Las Vegas and Orlando passed ordinances in July that criminalize feeding groups of homeless people in the cities' public parks, becoming the first cities in the country to do so.

The ordinances--aimed at preventing crowds of homeless individuals from gathering in the cities' parks--sparked protests and lawsuits by organizations from local groups to the American Civil Liberties Union.

Still, more cities are considering similar feeding ordinances, according to a January 2006 report from the National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH) and the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty.

The Las Vegas ordinance makes "the providing of food or meals to the indigent for free or for a nominal fee" a crime. They define indigent as "a person whom a reasonable ordinary person would believe to be entitled to apply for or receive" public assistance. Violations are punishable by fines of up to $1,000 or jail time of up to six months.

Laws targeting the homeless community are not new in Las Vegas, which was ranked the meanest city for the homeless by the NCH in 2003. Recently, the city passed a statute that makes public defecation a crime, along with "knowingly establish[ing]" sleeping quarters within 500 feet of defecation unless that "deposit" is made in an appropriate sanitary facility. Enforcement techniques are not yet clear.

In Orlando, a permit is required to feed a large group in any public park. Organizations are allowed two permits per park, per year, making it difficult to regularly to provide food to those in need.

Preambles to both statues explain the rationale for these ordinances: encouraging public use of the parks, controlling litter and crime, and ensuring all groups of citizens equal opportunity and access to the parks.

Las Vegas city spokesman David Riggleman said that the city is "trying to empathize with both camps," and that by regulating the impromptu food distribution, individuals will be encouraged to go to homeless services centers who can provide mental health and employment services in addition to meals.

While these are legally--and socially--valid justifications, opponents of the ordinances argue that the new legislation does not adequately consider the needs of the homeless who have few other options.

Homeless advocates and charitable groups have rallied against the ordinances, looking for loopholes and simply ignoring the new laws.

"There's no way for people to get out to those services in triple-digit weather," said Gail Sacco, who operates a mobile soup kitchen in Las Vegas. "My plan is to do anything I feel is needed to keep these people alive."

Days after the Orlando ordinance passed, Orlando Food Not Bombs passed out food from vehicles parked in the area. The group, which has "picnics" in the Lake Eola Park area every Wednesday, is a chapter of the international Food Not Bombs movement that provides vegetarian and vegan meals to those in need.

Since late July, activists in both cities have been cited for violations and raised legal challenges to the statutes. A radio station in Las Vegas passed out donuts and soda one morning, earning citations, fines, and Mayor Oscar Goodman's ire.

"If they're a vet we'll send them to US Vets, but giving them donuts, that's kids' stuff," Goodman said, insisting that the homeless could still get the help they needed.

"I don't think anybody in America wants people to starve to death," Las Vegas City Council member Gary Reese said, "but if you want to help somebody, people can go to McDonald's or Kentucky Fried Chicken and give them a meal."

The Las Vegas chapter of Food Not Bombs and the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada have filed suit against the city, claiming that the ordinance violates the constitutional rights of free speech, assembly, religion, due process, and equal protection.

In Orlando, members of the Stop The Ordinance Partnership (S.T.O.P.) and Food Not Bombs have continued with regular feedings, and hosted a "dinner dialogue" on the steps of city hall, seeking to discuss other options to the ordinance with council members.

"We want to talk to them. We want them to talk to us. We want to present some alternatives to the 9,000 to 11,000 people who were out here," said ACLU representative George Crossley. If the ordinance is not changed, the ACLU has said it will file suit against the city.