By Eileen Buckley
Buffalo, NY – Buffalo lawmakers approved a new law that will make it easier for police to crack down on aggressive panhandlers in the City. The approval came at Tuesday's Common Council session.
The City already had panhandling laws. But just last week, Police Commissioner McCarthy Gipson called for changes. He asked city lawmakers to create a new law that would make it easier for officers to deal with aggressive panhandlers.
North District lawmaker Joseph Golombek sponsored the legislation. Golombek says panhandling is just another reason why some people leave the city.
The biggest challenge in drafting the legislation was creating a law that does not effect a person's first amendment rights.
Assistant Corporation Counsel Peter Savage says the legislation was designed after a panhandle law in the City of Rochester. It was already litigated all the way to the State's highest court and upheld as constitutional. Savage says this law defines what aggressive panhandling is.
Under the new law, no panhandling would be allowed within 20-feet from an ATM or entrance to a bank. The new law also includes no soliciting in a bus shelter and parking lot or walking up to a motor vehicle. Penalties for violating this new law could include fines, jail time or community service.
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