I am dismayed by Dover City Councilman David Anderson’s recent ordinance to punish poor people who are homeless. It would be more constructive if Mr. Anderson and his colleagues on City Council instead started working to find solutions for homelessness. It is disappointing to see the number of complaints about panhandling, when the real issue is being overlooked. The avoidance of issues, like the lack of resources for mental health, housing and addiction in the city, is more worrying to me. Maybe Mr. Anderson and his colleagues should stick to the facts and stop sugarcoating that the city of Dover is thriving when it is not, plus there aren’t proper services and resources to help the homeless/underprivileged population. The city of Dover is at a tipping point. We have a serious homelessness issue, and the underprivileged have no place to go. They are left to panhandle for food, shelter and basic necessities just to survive.
As far as the ordinance and your justification to pass it, they lead me to think that it’s not all about safety but a tool to chase the underprivileged out of the city, just to appease your supporters.
People need to understand that, if this ordinance is adopted, the police will be able to issue a ticket for panhandling, but it will be disguised as a pedestrian safety or traffic violation. Also, any person trying to help a panhandler can be fined. Plus, the person could sue the city of Dover and the police department for violating his or her First, Fourth and 14th Amendment rights in federal court.
What the city of Dover doesn’t seem to get is that panhandling has been ruled as freedom of speech under the First Amendment. According to a growing string of court decisions, laws and ordinances that outlaw panhandling with attempts to justify them as safety concerns are themselves illegal. Rulings have found that these restrictions violate freedom of speech. Legal costs will eventually skyrocket with unsurmountable lawsuits, which will trickle down on the citizens, causing higher taxes and fees.
Poverty is real and complex, and needs to be eradicated, but punishing people for being poor is a folly.
Judith Blue
Dover
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