Crackdown on Panhandling: Council Backs Restrictions

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The City Council adopted a tough new crackdown on panhandlers Monday night, siding with downtown business leaders over homeless advocates who turned out in force for a three-hour public hearing on the controversial measures.

By a vote of 11-1, with Councilwoman Kathleen MacKenzie opposed, the council passed a new ordinance banning anyone from sitting or lying on sidewalks or any public right of way from 7 a.m to 9 p.m. in the 120-block downtown business district.

The council also amended two ordinances to prohibit panhandling on roadways and solicitation of donations within 20 feet of tables outside restaurants and other licensed establishments.

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_3282292

So who's right? Business people who point out that panhandlers chase away their customers, are aggressive, sometimes violent; or the homeless, who ask why it's illegal to say, "Brother can you spare a dime?"