Street solicitors facing limits

By Timothy Pratt (contact)

Sunday, Oct. 30, 2005 | 8:41 a.m.

What is 'aggressive'

The law against "aggressive solicitation" being considered Nov. 15 by the Henderson City Council would prohibit soliciting money or anything else of value. It also would prohibit soliciting the sale of goods or services, "in an aggressive manner in a public area."

"Aggressive manner" includes:

Areas where this behavior would be made illegal include in any public transportation or bus stop, within 15 feet of a bank or automatic teller machine, and from anybody driving a car on a public street.

Henderson officials will be considering a law in the coming weeks that would make aggressive panhandling illegal.

The law would make behavior such as "approaching or following pedestrians" and "the use of abusive or profane language to cause fear and intimidation" in certain situations misdemeanors.

The idea is to "promote ... Henderson's interests, including: 1) protecting its citizens ...; 2) promoting tourism and business; 3) preserving the quality of life," according to the ordinance.

The proposal to be discussed at a Nov. 15 Henderson City Council meeting includes striking a current law that makes vagrancy illegal, Ron Sailon, assistant city attorney, said.

The new law would be more in line with a trend nationwide that targets aggressive behavior, and not vagrancy or even panhandling per se, he said.

"I was reviewing ordinances that need to be updated" and came up with the proposed law against aggressive solicitation, he said.

The directors of several agencies that work with the homeless said they had no problem with the law since it seeks to protect public safety and doesn't target the homeless as a group.

But Nevada American Civil Liberties Union attorney Allen Lichtenstein said the law as worded was "not narrowly defined (enough) and unconstitutionally vague."

He said the law's language -- where the definition of "aggressive manner" includes "approaching the person being solicited in a manner that is ... intended to or is reasonably likely to intimidate the person being solicited" -- is too subjective.

As well, he said, the law "could encompass any number of people the police want it to" -- including not just homeless panhandlers but day laborers, for instance.

Day laborers soliciting work from shoppers at plant nurseries on Eastern Avenue in Henderson have drawn complaints from some business owners and the valley's different municipalities have agreed to study creating an officially sanctioned day laborer site.

Gary Peck, ACLU executive director, said he hoped Henderson's proposed law wouldn't pre-empt the valleywide effort and be used by police to arrest day laborers.

Still, Daniele Dreitzer, executive director of Henderson Allied Community Advocates, an organization whose work includes helping the homeless, said she had seen the problem of panhandling grow -- particularly along Water Street -- and thought something needed to be done to address the problem.

Panhandling, she said, "ultimately does more damage to the homeless -- and the perception of the homeless in the community -- when they are aggressive."

"I don't really think it helps them and would rather see people give agencies that provide services money and have the homeless seek services."

Linda Lera-Randle El, director of Straight From the Streets, another nonprofit organization, also said she has seen panhandling increase in recent years, and that some panhandlers are aggressive.

"I know who they're talking about" in the proposed law, she said.

She said the law as written is "not targeting the homeless -- it's more about protecting public safety."

Lichtenstein, however, said the ACLU would speak against the ordinance at the city council meeting.

"Clearly we have a growing homeless problem in the valley. Is this going to deal with it or simply put more people in jail?"

Timothy Pratt can be reached at 259-8828 or timothy@lasvegassun.com.