Alabama's anti-begging laws ruled unconstitutional
A federal judge on Friday ruled that two Alabama laws criminalizing begging and soliciting donations are unconstitutional under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The ruling permanently prohibits state law enforcement officers from enforcing the statutes.
Montgomery city and county law enforcement officers had already agreed to stop enforcing the laws.
The affected statutes are Alabama's loitering law and a traffic law. The section of the loitering law deemed unconstitutional outlawed begging in a public place, while the other law deemed unconstitutional outlawed standing on a highway to solicit employment or donations from drivers. Violating the laws was punishable by a fine or jail time.
Critics of the laws argued that they criminalized homelessness and did not advance public safety. The Southern Poverty Law Center and ACLU of Alabama praised the ruling in a news release.
“We are pleased that the court chose to permanently enjoin the state’s solicitation statutes. Criminalizing people for asking for help further disenfranchises those who are already facing economic hardship,” said Micah West, SPLC senior staff attorney. "Housing, not handcuffs, is the way to end homelessness. It should not be a crime for our unhoused neighbors to ask for help. Rather than criminalizing people experiencing homelessness, the state should address our housing affordability crisis that is a primary driver of homelessness."
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In February 2020, the SPLC, ACLU of Alabama and National Homelessness Center sued the City of Montgomery, the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency to immediately stop enforcing the laws. City and county officials settled the lawsuit and agreed to stop enforcing them in 2021 and 2022, respectively.
In August 2021, U.S. District Judge W. Keith Watkins issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting the defendants from enforcing the laws while the case was pending. Watkins' Friday ruling and injunction permanently stops ALEA officers from enforcing the laws statewide.
“The injunction is a victory for marginalized groups that find themselves in tough economic circumstances and in need of help,” said Tish Gotell Faulks, legal director for the ACLU of Alabama. “Criminalizing the solicitation of charitable donations does nothing to advance public safety. Instead, it multiplies already existing barriers for people experiencing homelessness. This can include unaffordable fines and fees, the loss of their freedom through incarceration and a criminal record – all of which are obstacles to obtaining housing and economic security.”
SPLC writes that anti-solicitation statutes have their roots in vagrancy laws designed to criminalize Black Americans after the end of the Civil War and that the laws continue to have a discriminatory effect.
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Evan Mealins is the justice reporter for the Montgomery Advertiser. Contact him at emealins@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanMealins.
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This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Alabama's anti-begging laws unconstitutional, federal judge rules
