(AP) – The Fayetteville City Council has amended the city’s
laws on panhandling to bring them in line with recent federal court rulings.
The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports the new laws remove any
language that prohibits panhandling, peddling, vending or soliciting donations
on a street, sidewalk or park. The laws do prohibit – for safety reasons –
standing or walking in the street unless there’s a crosswalk.
Organizers of charitable events, such as the Fire Department’s “Fill the Boot”
campaign, will be required to obtain a permit to approach cars stopped on the
street.
The changes come after a 2015 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that cities can’t
regulate speech based on its content and a federal judge’s later ruling to throw
out a Springfield, Illinois, city law that banned panhandling.
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