A suit was filed yesterday in a Missouri federal district court claiming that St. Louis’ Temporary Food Service Ordinance is unconstitutional as applied to restrict the non-commercial sharing of food with the hungry. The complaint (full text) in Redlich v. City of St. Louis, (ED MO, filed 1/8/2019) pits a pastor and another Christian man who believe they have a religious obligation to feed the hungry against city enforcement officials. It alleges in part:
Plaintiffs contend that as applied to them and to others similarly situated the Temporary Food Service Ordinance unconstitutionally and unlawfully restricts their free exercise of religion, their freedom of expression, their freedom of association, their rights of conscience, and denies them equal protection of the laws.
St. Louis Public Radio reports on the lawsuit.