ACLU Asks Court to Block Panhandling Law
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Calling it a 1st Amendment horror show, lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union asked a federal district court Friday to block enforcement of Los Angeles’ tough new panhandling law.
The civil rights group argued that the ordinance, adopted by the City Council on July 2 and signed into law by Mayor Richard Riordan, violates constitutional guarantees of free speech.
The city attorney’s office defended the ordinance, saying that soliciting should not be considered speech but conduct that does not enjoy the same constitutional protections.
The ordinance bans begging at bus stops, public parking lots and buildings, on street medians and freeway offramps, and within 15 feet of any bank or automated teller machine.
Both sides expect a court decision within the next two weeks.
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