Suit Challenges Jacksonville's Permit Requirement To Feed Homeless

In Jacksonville, Florida last week, Michael J. Herkov, an associate professor at North Florida University filed a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a city ordinance that requires a permit in order to hand out food to the homeless. Yesterday's Florida Times-Union reports that Herkov alleges that the ordinance interferes with his carrying out a basic tenet of his Christian faith. City Assistant General Counsel Ernst Mueller says that the law is not directed at interfering with anyone's religion. It is intended to assure sanitation and toilet facilities where food is distributed and to protect the homeless population from dangers of spoiled food. But Herkov's attorney, Scott Fortune, says the law is so broadly worded that it could be construed to prevent serving someone coffee or a meal at one's home without a permit.