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  • Letter From National Law Center On Homelessness and Poverty

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    This is a letter from National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty to Chattanooga City Council.

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    Letter from National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty

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    This is a letter from National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty to Chattanooga City Council.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    252 views1 page

    Letter From National Law Center On Homelessness and Poverty

    Uploaded by

    nooganews
    This is a letter from National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty to Chattanooga City Council.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    of 1
    vail Verizon © GED 10:45 AM 73 KE Done Chattanooga Panhandling 4-2-2018.pdf en NATIONAL LAW CENTER Board of Directors vard MeN April 2, 2018 ‘Cicr Chair Jerry Mitchell Sao Anin if Councilor Carol Berz facet — Councilor Erskine Oglesby, Jr. Tm cue Clerk Nicole Gwyn Revert" Via EMail XineedetnenOiey Dear Councilors, scuncettits:Smiy ‘Thank you for this opportunity to share our concems about the proposed ordinance which ener cas, Would effectively criminalize those who are forced to ask for donations on the streets of Miro Corpocaen Chattanooga. The National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty is the only national eae4.Cxi egal organization dedicated to ending and preventing homelessness, with more than 25 sumer years of experience in outreach and education, policy advocacy, and impact litigation. Sipuntisterttinnte® — ‘This experience shows us this law is likely unconstitutional, fails to address the : wiht A.Fene underlying causes of people needing to ask for donations, and will cost the city more in easau-feve€Ser'4° their enforcement than it would to simply provide the housing and services individuals need so they would not have to ask for contributions in the first place. = crime ch ‘The draft bill we have seen criminalizes the act of soliciting funds in a defined he acct takes, “aggressive” manner and in a number of regulated locations. As the city recognizes in the ‘eck Dron Aewse preamble to the bill, the First Amendment's protections of free speech apply to those who sts are asking for donations. See, e.g. Buckley v. Valeo, 424 US. 1 (1976); Speet v. Schuette. cornu busy it? 726 F.3d 867, 878 (6th Cir. 2013) (“[BJegging, or the soliciting of alms, is a form of ama aver Solicitation that the First Amendment protects.”). The Supreme Court clarified in Reed v US Derwmentot talent Town of Gilbert, Ariz. (135 S. Ct. 2218 (2015) that it will examine a law as a content- based restriction if (I) the text of the law makes distinctions based on speech’s “subject ‘matter ... function or purpose” or (2) the purpose behind the law is driven by an objection to the content ofa message. Subsequent cases have clarified that this applies to ordinances iisermn Seeking to regulate panhandling (see Norton v. City of Springfield, IIL, 806 F.3d 411 (7th OwnTY Cir, 2015); Thayer v. City of Worcester, 755 F.3d 60 (Ist Cir. 2014), vacated, 135 S. Ct colttr.Asines 2887 (2015), declaring ordinance unconstitutional on remand, 2015 WL 6872450, at *15 nuts trxaa (Ds Mass. Nov. 9, 2015)). rancor bet aren The city already has on its books laws intended to address individuals safety concems: aoe Such as assault and battery—and traffic safety concems; making a distinetion between ‘resdee: putting someone in fear of their safety while asking for donations versus without asking ~

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