The Waukesha common council unanimously voted to repeal its panhandling ordinance Monday night.
Waukesha’s city attorney Brian Running told TODAY’S TMJ4 the two big reasons the law should be repealed was recent court rulings and he said the fines weren’t working.
Running said the city had no choice, because the ordinance doesn’t stand up to recent court rulings.
The ACLU calls these ordinances 'anti-begging laws' that punish the most vulnerable part of our society.
Running wrote in the memo:
"We have done our research, communicated with other city attorneys, and looked at this from every angle, and we have reached an inescapable conclusion: The ACLU is right, our ordinance doesn't pass muster under a couple recent case decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court (Reed v. Town of Gilbert) and the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals (Norton v. City of Springfield)."
