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51 °F Forecast | Road Cams Tuesday, March 22, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend March 19, 2005 Since You Asked Begging is not illegal I heard that the city of Medford has no law that bans "panhandling." Is this true? I think it’s time the city cleans things up around here. — Scott A., Medford Well, Scott, there’s a little hitch there. An outright prohibition of begging violates the First Amendment to the Constitution. Lori Cooper, senior assistant attorney for the city of Medford, said it’s considered free expression and cannot be prohibited on public property, such as a public right of way. But there are some regulations in Medford and many other cities. For example, a panhandler can’t cause any sort of impediment to the flow of traffic and they can’t block a sidewalk. And it’s illegal for a person to become aggressive or threatening when begging. She said begging can be prohibited on private property, such as a store parking lot. Send questions to "Since You Asked," Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501; by fax to 541-776-4376; or by e-mail to [email protected] . We’re sorry, but the volume of questions received prevents us from answering all of them. Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Student Loan Consolidation Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers home equity loans helzberg Slippers Student Loans afsa teleconferencing Memory Foam Mattress w2 forms Tatoo Advertisement s