Kansas City’s panhandling proposal would wage war on the poor
“Kansas City officials aren’t wrong to want to rein in panhandling. But criminalizing being poor, homeless or mentally ill is not the best way to go about it. A proposed ordinance would essentially ban panhandling, but it could violate individuals’ First Amendment rights. And if passed, the measure’s clever wording wouldn’t be enough to head off the legal quagmire that would surely follow. A city ordinance already prohibits aggressive panhandling. But it is rarely enforced because of constitutional worries.”