Food Not Bombs, a volunteer group that feeds the homeless, was issued tickets by Houston police for distributing meals outside the Central Library in violation of a city ordinance. At the first trial for one of the volunteers, Phillip Picone, the jury found him not guilty. The city claims the ordinance is meant to connect homeless people with social services, while Food Not Bombs argues it violates their freedoms and rights. During the trial, the police officer testified that he issued the ticket but that he also likes feeding the homeless. In his closing argument, Picone’s lawyer argued there was reasonable doubt since the group had been feeding people there for years with the city’s permission. The jury unanimously found Picone not guilty, which his lawyer saw as confirmation of his faith in doing good for the poor.
My brother lives in Texas and his property taxes are astronomical. I think that’s better than higher sales taxes since it’ll tend to favor those who are wealthy enough to own land and be higher for those with more property/properties, but it still shocked me. I live in Washington, though, we get the shit taxed out of us and in pretty regressive ways too, like high sales and gas taxes that disproportionately impact the poor.