Considering what the city of Durango should do about panhandlers should start with the recognition that we are talking about our fellow Americans. These may be people on the margin of society, but they have the same rights as the rest of us.
Beyond that, finding the right answers has a lot to do with asking the right questions. That begins with: What is the problem that requires government action?
If the answer is that we do not like looking at unkempt people or folks who do not dress like the rest of us, the answer is easy: too bad. People have the right to live their lives as they choose. And that includes the constitutionally protected right to freedom of speech, even if that speech is a request for money.
The simple presence of people seen as disheveled or unusual is not a reason to deny those people their rights as citizens. Worries about tourism have no bearing on that.
If, however, the perceived problem involves safety and the protection of basic public order, the answers are different. Just as panhandlers have the same rights as the rest of us, so, too, do they have the same responsibility to respect others and obey the law.
What the city can and should do begins with two ordinances already being considered:
One would ban aggressive panhandling such as following, touching or threatening passers-by and make it illegal to beg where members of the public would be a captive audience.
Those limits are easy to understand and should be easy both to accept and to enforce. Threatening people and touching or following strangers constitutes harassment, if not assault. There is no constitutional right to any of that and no requirement that society accept that kind of behavior.
The captive audience provision is just as easy to get. Nobody should be asked to tolerate beggars hanging around watching as money is withdrawn from an ATM. The same thinking should apply to folks waiting for a trolley or queuing for a movie.
The second law would make it illegal for anyone to stand on a median for any reason.
True, that would have the effect of depriving many panhandlers of their favorite spots, but the public safety basis put forward is legitimate. Standing on a median means stepping into traffic, either to accept a contribution or to get to the median in the first place. Few such medians are at designated crosswalks. And even the slightest assertiveness or aggression on the part of the panhandler can come across as threatening to a motorist stopped right there at the light.
Durango cannot ban panhandling. Nor should it want to try. But by carefully crafting sensible rules founded on safety and public order, it can do a lot to allay any concerns.
