CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) - The city of Charlottesville has been ordered to halt the enforcement of an ordinance that prohibits panhandling on parts of the city's Downtown Mall.
The Daily Progress (
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) reports a federal judge Thursday ruled the ordinance violates the First Amendment's free speech protections.
An attorney for a group of homeless people had argued the ordinance targeted a "certain class of people." It barred panhandling within 50 feet of either of two streets that cross the Downtown Mall, but it didn't stop someone for soliciting signatures for a political petition.
The city argued panhandling near the crossings was a public safety hazard, and people are free to ask for donations elsewhere on the pedestrian mall.
But U.S. District Judge Norman Moon says the ordinance reflected a focus on the panhandlers.
Information from: The Daily Progress,
http://www.dailyprogress.com
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