Lost Liberties: No Free Love or Water

5 CommentsLost Liberties

PHOENIX – The City of Phoenix could face a lawsuit if the city doesn’t apologize to a Valley woman for telling her she could not hand out free bottled water to people in the summer heat.

Dana Crow-Smith said a City of Phoenix worker came up to her during the First Friday festival in downtown Phoenix last month and told her she was violating city code by handing out free water because she did not have a permit.

Crow-Smith and a group of others were there exercising their Christian beliefs by engaging people to talk about religion if they wanted.

The group brought several cases of bottled water to give away in the 112-degree heat, but said a Neighborhood Preservation Inspector told the group they had to stop handing out the water or would be cited.

“It was really hot and yeah we wanted to show God’s love and a small act of kindness is a great way to do that without shoving it down someone’s throat,” said Crow-Smith. Read the rest here.

Comments (5)

  1. Eric

    Reply

    That’s just unbelievable, I can see preventing someone from doing something harmful or destructive to someone else, but handing out bottles of cold water on a blistering hot day! Where I live you can hand out all the cold water you want without a permit, the permit is only needed for those wanting to sell water to the public.

  2. Steve L.

    Reply

    I’ll guarantee you that if that had been some atheist group, folks from planned parenthood or a bunch of liberals, it never would have happened!

    • theB1ackSwan

      Reply

      Oh calm down already. No one is out to get you while you’re awake, no one is going to kill you when you’re asleep. You’re arguably in the most Christian-populated country in the world, and yet that still won’t satisfy you.

      I think the reaction is a bit extreme, but from the government perspective I can see why. What if the water was tainted with something? What if it is generally unhealthy, unbeknown to those passing it out and those receiving it? Once again, we have a case where, at the bottom line, has absolutely nothing to do with religion but rather violating city code. An atheist, a Muslim, a Jew, or a Christian would have been told the same thing.

      • Steve L.

        “What if the water was tainted with something? What if it is generally unhealthy”

        I submit that these were sealed bottles! Were those in authority looking for some kind of tax revenue or just trying to throw their weight around? I think the latter!

      • theB1ackSwan

        Funny, no where in the video or article does it mention that the bottle is sealed. Also, while we’re on the subject, it’s shockingly easy to reseal a bottle or fake that it hasn’t been tampered in some way. Is this relevant anyway, as the group clearly violated city code. If they want to talk about religion and pass out water, I’m all for that. They probably didn’t know about the city permits to do so. Obtain those, and I have no problem here.

        I find it funny that even the lady herself said, “But I don’t think it’s even about religious beliefs. I think anybody should be able to giveaway water on the sidewalk to anybody. It’s hot and it’s a nice thing to do.”

        You’re trying to make this into a religious issue when it’s not. This isn’t lost liberties; this is you trying to feel victimized in order to justify your persecution complex.

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