Well-Armed Activists Openly Defy Texas Law to Feed the Homeless – Hundreds Clothed and Fed

TOPICS:Matt AgoristPoverty

December 22, 2015

By Matt Agorist
When feeding the homeless becomes an act of civil disobedience, Americans have been asleep for far too long.
Luckily, however, there are still good people who are willing to defy such arbitrary and ill-conceived laws and ordinances.
The folks over at the aptly named organization Don’t Comply, took to the streets just outside the Austin Street Shelter in Dallas this weekend to perform, what has now become a revolutionary act – feeding the homeless.

“We are not complying with a bad law today,” Matthew Short, PR director of Don’t Comply said. “Evidently the city of Dallas believes that it’s wrong, or bad, or unlawful for us to feed more than a certain number of people at a time. But, during Christmas, we want to show love to our community and give these people a chance to survive the winter, whether it be with blankets or coats, or just giving them a holiday party like today with all kinds of cookies, and goodies, turkey and dressing, and the whole nine yards.”
Last December, the Dallas city council enacted Ordinance No. 29595, which makes it illegal to serve food to the homeless without jumping through a statist myriad of bureaucratic hoops, including a fee, training classes, and written notices.
One should not need to file multiple forms and pay a fee to obtain a permit to give food to those in need who are willingly ready to accept it. The folks at Don’t Comply know this.
According to Brett Sanders, hundreds of homeless people showed up to not only enjoy a fantastic array of food, snacks and beverages – but there was also an assortment of winter clothing that was donated as well.
“All of the homeless people that I talked to during the event were extremely grateful for the support and there was a sense of humanity that is indescribable.  Interacting with other human beings whom most consider to be living life at rock bottom will likely alter your perspective on the world around you,” explained Sanders.
The event went off without a hitch, even after code enforcers showed up. Lead organizer of the event, Murdoch Pizgatti was confronted by the enforcers who told him to file the proper paperwork upon the event’s conclusion to which, Pizgatti politely replied, “no.”
“We’ve already had to speak to the police, they’ve already come and delivered code to us,” said Short, explaining what happened when the code enforcers showed up. “But, after shaking hands with them, they realized we’re all armed – and we’re gonna do what we’re gonna do because it’s not an immoral thing that we are doing.”
Below is the powerful video shot by Brett Sanders showing the powerful effects of such moral civil disobedience.