It looks like some concerted opposition to potential changes to Austin’s solicitation laws – potentially making it harder on the homeless – are emerging.
At the start of tomorrow’s City Council meeting, the ACLU of Texas, Communication Workers of America #6132, House The Homeless/Universal Living Wage Coalition, the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund (MALDEF), the Religion and Labor Network of Austin, and the Workers Defense Project will be on hand to oppose any broadening of current state and city bans on panhandling and solicitation. If you missed it, council is receiving a 2pm presentation on current laws at the behest of Jennifer Kim; she and Brewster McCraken are sponsoring a resolution setting public hearings for possible changes next month.
The presser:
Proposed Anti-Solicitation Ordinance Faces Stiff Community Opposition
AUSTIN – This Thursday, as the Austin City Council is presented with a new proposal for anti-solicitation ordinances, a coalition of organizations – including faith leaders, day laborers, student groups, and homeless and legal advocacy organizations – will hold a press conference on the subject. The coalition will be calling on City Council to not consider the anti-solicitation ordinances proposed by Council Member Jennifer Kim and instead to include all stakeholders in the process before moving forward with any new ordinances. Council members are to decide whether to set a public hearing on the proposals.
The ordinances are so broad that it would make a host of activities illegal, including the poor asking for food, day laborers seeking work, hailing a cab, car washes, and firefighters seeking charitable donations, to name but a few.
Coalition members will present their concerns about the anti-solicitation ordinances, and their continued desire to work with the City to create community based solutions, at City Hall at 10am on Thursday September 27th.
This article appears in September 21 • 2007.