I don't see this issue being addressed, as they are still doing it and can see debris in woods between McDonakds and Chik Fil A.

I would like to see PD assigned to keeping them moving and from being a distraction.

Unfortunately, unless they are impeding travel on the roadway, or causing a disturbance, we cannot remove panhandlers. Their activity is protected as free speech

Advised

I am not a lawyer, but they are in the public way. Doesn't MGL Part IV, Title 1, Ch. 272, Section 66: Vagrants, apply?

"Section 66. Persons wandering abroad and begging, or who go about from door to door or in public or private ways, areas to which the general public is invited, or in other public places for the purpose of begging or to receive alms, and who are not licensed or who do not come within the description of tramps as contained in section sixty-three, shall be deemed vagrants and may be punished by imprisonment for not more than six months in the house of correction."

Section 63: Tramps, does not apply to protect them as they are clearly living in this Town, not roving from town to town.

Panhandling is a solicitation made in person for immediate donation of money or other gratuity. This may be done by vocal appeal (asking, requesting, coercing (badgering), sympathy appeals, harassment, threats, or demands) or by nonvocal appeal (usage of signs or other signals gestures, postures, children, animals, or props such as toys and musical instruments).

In Reed v. Town of Gilbert, Arizona, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2015 that government regulations curtailing free speech have to be as narrow as possible and must fulfill a “compelling government interest.” At issue was a town ordinance that restricted where signs for religious services could be displayed. But the decision, which applies to any local rules that limit certain types of speech, has caught some cities by surprise.

In June of 2017 a federal judge declared the City of Slidell’s panhandling ordinance unconstitutional, ruling that the law violated the First Amendment rights of people asking for money anywhere within the Slidell City limits. Under the ordinance, panhandlers would have been required to register with police and acquire a permit to engage in a constitutionally protected activity. The American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana brought the suit on behalf of Gary Blitch, a U.S. Army veteran, and his co-plaintiffs David Knight and Daniel Snyder.

The American Civil Liberties Union and other civil liberties groups have long argued that it was unconstitutional for municipalities to prohibit people from begging for money in public spaces.

Based upon the decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court, panhandling is protected under an individuals first amendment right to freedom of speech.

Standing in the middle of a narrow island is distracting and dangerous to the person and the motorist. I believe if I stood out there I would be asked to move. Side of the road at the corner probably isn't a danger or obstructing sight lines or distracting to drivers, but in the middle of the road it is. If you have determined that there is nothing you can do, at least refer it to some human services organization to investigate the welfare of the person in the wheelchair that appears to be ready to topple over at any point. Just saying you can't do anything doesn't help anyone.

We are working on the issue.

I did not say that we can't do anything. We must work within the law and understand the guideline in regards to "Free Speech".
We are working on this issue and have been working with the businesses in the area as well.
We have officers checking on all of the individuals, identifying issues and in one case arrested a person creating a problem by jumping into traffic.

Thank you Lieutenant Grigas. I appreciate your efforts. I was afraid that person that was wandering into traffic could potentially be struck. He was walking down the middle of the left turning lane towards Chik-fil-a, and I literally had to stop and wait for him to move from the lane before I could proceed towards the light. He then proceeded to walk amongst the stopped cars in the two leftmost lanes. The traffic proceeds so quickly down Rt 30 and if he would have happened to step out from between vehicles, I doubt a driver would be able to stop in time.

This issue has been marked as a duplicate of issue 3634160.

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