Santa Fe considers expanding panhandling law | News

Santa Fe is considering whether to expand the definition of panhandling.

Assistant city attorney Alfred Walker says including people who hold signs near roads and on medians in the law would address safety concerns.

He tells the Albuquerque Journal that the city can't discriminate between those who write out their requests and those verbally make them.

The American Civil Liberties Union hasn't been receptive to the proposal and says the city could face legal challenges over it.

Executive director Peter Simonson in New Mexico says the content of panhandling speech is constitutionally protected.

A 2010 ordinance bans panhandlers from soliciting at medians, approaching cars and from seeking money after dark in the downtown business district.

(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)