Las Vegas and many other cities that have banned sharing food with the homeless suffered a setback as the Eleventh Circuit ruled it is our constitutional right to share food with our homeless friends.
The Eleventh Circuit has held that the outdoor sharing of food by FLFNB. They have rules the sharing of food is expressive conduct protected by the First Amendment, and therefore, the district court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of the City of Fort Lauderdale on FLFNB’s suit challenging an ordinance enacted by the City that restricted this food sharing.
In 2014, the City Ft. Lauderdale passed an ordinance that restricted FLFNB’s sharing foo in a public park. In its complaint, FLFNB argued that the ordinance violated their First Amendment free speech and free association rights and was unconstitutionally vague.
The district court disagreed, concluding that sharing food outdoors was not constitutionally-protected expressive conduct and that the ordinance and park rule were not vague. The Supreme Court reversed the nature of Food Not Bobs (FLFNB’s) food sharing activity, combined with the factual context and environment in which the activity was undertaken, holding that Food