In a nation that often prides itself on Christian values, humanitarian outreach and freedom, an alarming trend is unfolding: Compassion is being criminalized.
Law enforcement officers would detail, arrest and/or take Jesus Christ and all his disciples to jail for doing what Jesus told them in spirit and in truth. If you are a Christian, then this is the read for you.
From Florida to California, state and municipal laws are turning acts of kindness into punishable offenses. Whether it’s feeding the homeless, providing water to migrants or sheltering abused children, dozens of jurisdictions across the United States have passed ordinances that effectively make it illegal to be a Good Samaritan. The result is chilling — the criminalization of humanity.
In 2014, law enforcement officers arrested Arnold Abbott, a 90-year-old man in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., for feeding the homeless without a permit. In Houston, food sharing in public requires landowner permission. In Las Vegas, you can’t feed unhoused people in parks unless authorized.
Edmond W. Davis
These are not isolated incidents. They’re part of a growing legal architecture designed to suppress visible poverty rather than address it.
Consider Arkansas Act 255 of 2023. The law makes it a misdemeanor to loiter or engage in behavior “likely to cause alarm” near roadways. This includes panhandling — or even stopping to give someone a meal or a few dollars. The law does not address the root causes of poverty. Instead, it penalizes those who dare to acknowledge it.
Across the country, providing food, water and tents or even offering prayers during protests has led to arrests. In cities like Denver, Phoenix and Philadelphia, people have been ticketed or jailed for distributing aid in public spaces.
In Tucson, Ariz., humanitarian Scott Warren was arrested for leaving water in the desert to prevent migrant deaths. His crime? Being compassionate.
When kindness becomes a legal liability, what kind of society are we creating?
Even churches and nonprofits have been targeted. In El Cajon, Calif., food sharing during a Hepatitis A outbreak was banned. In Louisville, Ky., people were fined for letting unhoused neighbors stay in their garages. In New York and Chicago, mutual aid groups have faced citations for giving out basic supplies. When kindness becomes a legal liability, what kind of society are we creating?
Let’s be clear. These laws are not about safety. They are about sanitizing the public space of discomfort. They are about making poverty and protest invisible. These laws do not fix hunger or homelessness. They suppress their witnesses.
This legal trend echoes past injustices. During the civil rights era, people were jailed for sitting at lunch counters. Today, they’re cited for offering a sandwich. The spirit of the law is less about justice and more about control.
We must ask: When did empathy become a threat to public order?
The answer is as old as America itself. Laws have long been used to enforce racial, economic and social hierarchies. Vagrancy laws post-emancipation criminalized Black mobility. Jim Crow laws punished interracial solidarity. Now, anti-compassion laws silence the civic conscience of our communities.
These policies thrive on public apathy and misdirection. They present themselves as “zoning,” “public safety” or “health codes.” But the impact is unmistakable — less support for the vulnerable and more legal exposure for those trying to help.
Empathy should not be litigated. Kindness should not require a permit.
This must stop. Empathy should not be litigated. Kindness should not require a permit. America is becoming Rome, and with the cult of law and order, there will be consequences
It’s time for local, state and federal policymakers to repeal these laws and replace them with legislation that encourages community-based care and public service. It’s time for citizens to reclaim their right to care out loud.
Being human — fully, freely, fearlessly — is not a crime.
Edmond W. Davis is a social historian, award-winning professor, Amazon No. 1 new release author, international speaker and founder of the National HBCU Black Wall Street Career Fest. His research and work focus on history, socioemotional intelligence and public service leadership. His writings span Africa, Asia, Europe and the U.S.
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