Orlando Considers Controversial Night Panhandling Ban

[The Straight Story]

Orlando Considers Controversial Night Panhandling Ban

City: Ordinance Is To Protect People From Harassment

ORLANDO, Fla. -- The city of Orlando is considering a controversial plan Monday that would fine and possibly jail people who beg for money at night.

Reports of aggressive panhandling have prompted a push for City Council to consider more limits in Orlando.

Orlando has already made panhandlers apply for permits before asking for spare change and has restricted downtown begging to a few dozen panhandling zones.

The new proposed ordinance, if approved Monday night, would prohibit panhandlers from soliciting donations from 7 p.m. until 7 a.m.

The city said it is considering the ban because it wants to protect patrons from feeling harassed.

http://www.local6.com/news/14079919/detail.html

[PetrusMonsFormicarum]

1. A panhandler

accosted myself, my gal, and her mother as we strolled in downtown Portland last week.

The guy used the abbreviated request for a handout: "Spare change?"

My gal's Mom replied (without missing a beat), "Oh, no thank you!"

I don't know how it is in the rest of the country, but sadly, Portland's panhandlers seem, with few exceptions, to be pursuing a lifestyle choice. Young drifters who have money for tattoos, piercings, Doc martens boots, etc. who get all aggro if you don't/can't/won't cough up some coin. A while back, some of Portland's relief agencies came up with scrip one could buy and then hand that to panhandlers instead of money. The scrip could be used for toiletries, food, etc. I bought my first 5-buck booklet of them enthusiastically. When I was panhandled, however, invariably the panhandler would look at the scrip and toss it in the gutter.

[sandnsea]

3. runaways, addiction, abuse

You're seeing a symptom of a system that is failing our kids, not a lifestyle choice. We should wonder why so many young people are so disillusioned at such a young age. That's not to say the solution is handing them money, but we do need to figure out why living life isn't appealing to so many kids anymore.

[Not Me]

2. Things are setting themselves up to get uglier in Orlando.

For years, the downtown area has had homeless people around. The major homeless shelter is just barely to the west edge of the downtown area. Lake Eola Park, Orlando Public Library and other places see a fair share of people who have no other place to go.

What's happened recently is a move by upscale, mostly younger people into the downtown area. There are over 3,000 new high end condo units that have come online, or will soon. And that's where the clash (IMHO) is coming. People who have just plopped down a half-mil or more for their new trendy house or condo are complaining that they have to deal with homeless people.

Recently there was a big fuss over a group that was feeding the homeless in Lake Eola Park. That was met with an ordinance restricting how many times a month a group could do this. (Where were all the downtown Christian churches??? No offers to set up food distribution by ANY of them.)

And now, because all the nighttime clubbers don't want to be annoyed by requests for money, a new ordinance is being pondered.

I truly believe that it will not end until the homeless shelter is forced to relocate somewhere else and the new gentry will have won the battle.
It really sucks to be powerless in this society.

[KamaAina]

4. "Quick! Give me a dollar! It's almost sundown!"

"Hurry! The cops are gonna get us in a couple of minutes!"

This has been your official reductio ad absurdum of the draconian ordinance.