Yes, most cities' panhandling ordinances are unconstitutional

In this news report from WFMY News 2 in Greensboro (NC), our local news anchors report that Greensboro is planning to change its panhandling ordinance put into effect about 6 or 7 years ago.  As a former (and at the moment, again a) homeless person, and the guy who published the world's premiere panhandling blog then (seriously), I knew these ordinances were unconstitutional.  Groups like the ACLU and homeless advocates all knew the ordinances, that were passed in the wave of a PR campaign across the country, were unconstitutional.  But they were passed because every city wants to get rid of its poor and homeless people, or at least keep them out of sight.  The ordinances lasted this long, because someone has to actually fight an ordinance, and have the resources and legal expertise to fight it to the Supreme Court.  Most  homeless and poor people, obviously, don't have the resources to do that.

I'll be the first to admit that panhandling is a big issue in pretty mush every city of size.  Homelessness and panhandling will continue to be an issue forever, these are inherent problems in a "civilized" society.  We simply don't have the social will to  truly address all of the underlying issues to solve these problems.  But,  we are totally capable of dramatically reducing poverty, homelessness, and panhandling until only a handful of people fall into those categories.

Creating good paying jobs, MILLIONS of them nationwide, is one of best ways to address the underlying issues.  It's also one of the biggest challenges the United States will face in the next 20 years or so.  This happens to be the big issue I'm focusing my reasonably smart brain on.  I believe that if we can make a huge number of good, truly living wage jobs and businesses happen, that it will help solve a whole range of other social and economic issues as well.

Keep checking this blog for more of my thoughts and ideas on this subject.

Here's a good article on why court decisions back in 2015, ARE FINALLY being heeded in this area and others.  The reality is, a large number of city leaders simply don't believe in the rule of law being fairly applied to all people.  We all have our biases and prejudices.  Freedom of speech is a foundation of our Bill of Rights, but some people, for a whole host of reasons, continually want to limit or even eliminate it.  When the freedom of speech goes, so does the United States of America. 

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