Homeless advocates continue to push to overturn a Houston statute that bans individuals from rummaging through public trash cans, an act that recently left homeless veteran James Kelly with a citation he has been unable to pay.

Civil rights attorney Randall Kallinen, who represents Kelly and was joined by Shere Dore with Food Not Bombs and Shelby Stewart from the Greater Houston Coalition for Justice, appeared at the Houston City Council meeting Tuesday to raise awareness of Kelly's legal situation.

"The City of Houston has had a long history of hostility towards the homeless, most of whom aren't on the street by choice," Kallinen said at a brief press conference at City Hall. "The homeless in Houston greatly outnumber the beds available from local charities. And here we have the city treating them in this cruel and inhumane manner."

"We want to show that people are still unhappy about these laws that affect the homeless," Kallinen said. "Voters are not going to take lightly to their city council and mayor ignoring them."

The lawyer said Kelly's plight has helped shed new light on a city ordinance that mandates extensive training for those attempting to feed the needy.

According to Dore, organizations like Food Not Bombs struggle to comply with the city's strict food-serving rules. She herself refuses to follow the lengthy training requires, risking fines up to $2,000 a day. "People need to eat," she told a small crowd of reporters. "It's the right of every human being and we hope the city will take the initiative to understand that."

Before joining his fellow activists in stating their case before city council, Stewart summed up the group's stance. "As a society, we are judged by how we treat the homeless and the helpless. The question is for us today is 'How will Houston be judged?' . . . I wouldn't want that report card."

The city council was expected to decide on revising the trash bin ordinance on Wednesday, but according to the posted meeting agenda, the vote was pulled. Mayor Annise Parker's communications director Janice Evans told CultureMap on Thursday that council members wanted to discuss the issue further in a committee meeting and plan to vote on the measure in the near future.

Regardless of city council's decision, Kallinen said he remains fully prepared to fight Kelly's case on April 10, when his citation is scheduled to appear before a city judge.

"We want to show that people are still unhappy about these laws that affect the homeless," he said. "Voters are not going to take lightly to their city council and mayor ignoring them."