NEW ORLEANS (AP) — French Quarter beggars can’t be cussers. At least, not intimidating ones.
An ordinance passed last week by the New Orleans City Council bars aggressive solicitation in the city’s oldest and most famous neighborhood.
That includes “approaching or following pedestrians, repetitive soliciting despite refusals, the use of abusive or profane language to cause fear and intimation, unwanted physical contact, or the intentional blocking of pedestrian and vehicular traffic.”
The ordinance cracks down on what Councilwoman Kristin Gisleson Palmer called “organized aggressive solicitation” in the Quarter, The Times-Picayune reported.
The law says it is not intended to stop people from “passively” requesting donations with a sign, by shaking a cup of change or ringing a bell, or performing behind or next to a sign asking for money or other indication that donations would be appreciated.
It bans soliciting in or near parks, playgrounds, banks, ATMs, bars, liquor stores, convenience stores and gas stations — or within 20 feet of an intersection or marked crosswalk, to people in parked or stopped vehicles, or to people standing in lines.
Backers said the measure was modeled after similar laws in other cities and is designed to withstand possible challenges that it violates the First Amendment.
The ordinance says the council “intends to recognize free speech rights for all citizens while at the same time protecting the coexistent rights for all citizens to enjoy safe and convenient travel in public spaces free from intimidation, threats and harassment that stem from certain types of aggressive solicitation.”
Like an ordinance passed in March to prohibit “aggressive panhandling” in the Central Business District, backers said, the new ordinance was tailored to restrict solicitation only in places, times and circumstances “deemed particularly threatening or dangerous” or where the people approached represent a “captive audience” unable to avoid a confrontation.