ACLU Targeting Racine Panhandling Law

RACINE, WI -- Eight Wisconsin cities, including Racine, are being targeted by the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin for repeal of their local anti-pandhandling laws.

The ACLU and the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty sent letters Tuesday to Altoona, Glendale, Mequon, Racine, Superior, Shorewood and Wauwatosa.

“These cities should take these unconstitutional laws off the books and instead look for more constructive ways to address the needs of our fellow citizens experiencing homelessness and poverty,” Chris Ott, executive director of the state ACLU chapter, said in a prepared statement.

According to a Leader-Telegram report, since a 2015 Supreme Court decision in a free speech case, courts have struck down 25 other city ordinances against panhandling as unconstitutional. Another 31 cities repealed their ordinances, they added.

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