Ald. Amanda Hall's Response to Mayor's Panhandling Proposal

As an alder, a public safety review committee member, and a Madisonian, I was disappointed to read the Mayor's latest version of a proposed ordinance aimed at panhandling which judgmentally aims to ban a behavior rather than addressing the deeper issues facing those in need in Madison.

The problems with the proposed ordinance are twofold. First, the ordinance is aimed at panhandling at traffic intersections, but it is being labeled as a 'safety' issue, to avoid collision with recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings concerning panhandling ordinances. It is disingenuous and troubling for the Mayor's office to claim the thrust of a proposed ordinance is one thing, when the thrust is clearly something else entirely. 

Secondly, this ordinance fails to, in any meaningful way, address the deeper issues of those in need in Madison. In fact, the ordinance appears designed to sweep the issue, and those in need in Madison, out of sight and out of mind. It is wrong to target any group with proposed legislation, and it is especially distasteful to target those who are especially in need. By forcing individuals in a desperate enough condition to ask for money at street corners out of sight, our city is necessarily forcing them to even more desperate measures, something which Madisonians could never in good conscience be complicit. 

Madison is in the midst of coming to terms with handling a deep and complex issue, an issue which saddens many of us and causes us to reach for judgment as a kind of defense mechanism. However, we are a thoughtful city which is smart enough and tough enough to tackle issues as complex as this one. We need real solutions in the form of housing, counseling, and job skills training in order to empower our neighbors to move their lives forward. I am proud to continue to work with leaders in our community to work toward these solutions. 

This proposed ordinance is wrong on its face and wrong for Madison. We should instead continue to focus on addressing the deeper issues of those in need.