Home » News » 10th Circuit: Albuquerque panhandling ordinance violates First Amendment

By The Associated Press, published on November 26, 2021

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Photo courtesy iStock: Allkindza

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A federal appeals court on Nov. 24 upheld a lower court’s ruling that an Albuquerque ordinance aimed at curbing panhandling in certain places wasn’t sufficiently narrow to avoid violating First Amendment rights.

 

The city’s ordinance prohibits pedestrians from congregating close to a highway entrance or ramp, occupying a median considered unsuitable for pedestrians or having an exchange of any kind with somebody in a vehicle in a traffic lane.

 

The ordinance was challenged in court on behalf of panhandlers, protesters and people who pass out items to the needy.

 

City officials argued that the restrictions were needed to protect pedestrian safety and were narrowly tailored so as not to restrict speech more than necessary.

 

The 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, like a U.S. district judge, disagreed, saying that the ordinance’s provisions weren’t sufficiently narrow to conform to the goal of reducing pedestrian-vehicle accidents.

 

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