2月. 2015年10月10日，科罗拉多州sbobet篮球 提起集体诉讼 challenging an anti-panhandling ordinance that is being widely enforced by Fort Collins, 侵犯了贫困和无家可归者的言论自由权利, 还有街头艺人和非营利说客.
柯林斯堡警方已经发出了“几十张”传票, 大力执行一项违宪的法律，将和平定为犯罪, 非威胁性的言论和表达, including silent requests for charity from solicitors who simply display a sign asking for help.
我们的客户包括四个无家可归的人. They represent a class of people who want to engage in peaceful requests for charity in Fort Collins.
我们的客户还包括南希·约克，一位76岁的柯林斯堡居民. 因为她已经60多岁了, York is classified as “at risk” by the law and therefore cannot be approached by people or organizations requesting charity. She objects to the classification and believes that she is fully capable of deciding for herself whether or not to make a donation to a person or an organization.
阅读更多sbobet篮球我们柯林斯堡客户的信息:
劳伦斯北奥 没想到退休后要在街头流浪吗. 但当他的前雇主被另一家公司收购时, 他的退休金减至每月500美元，他发现自己付不起房租. 为了收支平衡, 他开始在柯林斯堡老城乞讨, 一项他不喜欢并觉得尴尬的活动, 但必要的. 为了避免在寒冷的冬夜睡在户外, Larry uses money he gets from panhandling to buy food and coffee at all-night coffee shops so that he can stay warm.
Every day, Larry is forced to choose between violating the law or going hungry and cold. He’s found that people leaving bars and restaurants in the evening are more likely to give him a couple quarters, as are people stepping out of their cars — who often have loose change in the vehicle — but Fort Collins panhandling law forbids him from asking for help in these circumstances. Larry is very careful to respect the personal space of those he asks for help and is always gracious and thankful to those he approaches.
“自行车拉里,正如他所知的那样, tries to show his appreciation for strangers’ generosity by paying it forward in whatever ways he can, 通常是帮其他无家可归的人修自行车.
需要帮助，但又不想引人注目, Jeff spends many days sitting quietly on a low concrete wall or bench in downtown Fort Collins, 附近有露天咖啡馆和银行吗, 还有一个寻求帮助的标志. He makes sure to stay out of pedestrians’ way and treats passersby with kindness and respect, 不管他们是否能给他零钱. 为了赚到足够的钱买必需品, he must sit in an area with a good amount of foot traffic — often within 100 feet of an ATM or outdoor café — and is sometimes forced to panhandle after dark. His 有礼貌的, unobtrusive requests for assistance violate Fort Collins panhandling ordinance.
艾比Landow 在口头上请求别人帮助时感到不自在, 因此，她默默地坐在公共人行道和长椅上，举着一个寻求帮助的牌子, 只有跟她说话的时候才说话. 尽管她不引人注目地乞讨, she’s been told by police repeatedly to “move on” when panhandling and has been ticketed for violating Fort Collins’s ordinance for simply sitting on a public bench and displaying her sign within sight of an outdoor café. 无家可归，穷困潦倒, Abby can’t afford to pay the fine for violating the ordinance and has therefore often chosen not to panhandle, 尽管她非常需要帮助.
苏珊Wymer recently became homeless when she was forced to move out of her Section 8 apartment after the Housing Authority declared her unit unlivable. 她现在无家可归，身体也有严重的问题, 使她无法工作, have forced her to panhandle in order to pay for life’s necessities such as food and medicine.
苏珊认为柯林斯堡社区是慷慨的. She frequently asks for their help by flying a sign near ATMs and outdoor cafés or by using her voice to 有礼貌的ly ask for spare change or leftover food. 晚上人流量大的时候，她也会举牌子. Susan is careful to never get in people’s way when she’s asking for help and always expresses gratitude when passersby choose to donate. She has found that many people who are older or 禁用, like her, are eager to help. 尽管她的乞讨天性平和, 警察一再告诫她，她乞讨的方式, 比如晚上和自动取款机附近, 违反了行乞条例. 不想惹上警察, 苏珊总是按照他们的指示继续前进, 即使她非常需要施舍. She’s worried that the ordinance will make her have to choose between courteously asking for help and violating the law.
除了被条例的年龄限制所侮辱, Nancy takes issue with the government’s attempt to push poor people out of sight and keep public spaces open only to those who are well-off. She enjoys talking with those facing poverty and homelessness and believes that everyone has the right to be seen and to ask for help in public places if they need it.
Greenpeace is concerned that canvassers are engaging in behavior that would be banned by Fort Collins’ panhandling ordinance. 例如, 拉票的人经常在许多自动取款机附近, 公交车站, 还有市中心的露天咖啡馆. Greenpeace does not want to train its canvassers to discriminate against people who are elderly or 禁用, 正如行乞禁令所要求的那样. After reviewing the text of the panhandling ordinance and learning how the Fort Collins police have enforced the law, Greenpeace fears that its canvassers are at risk of being ticketed and criminally prosecuted.
