BREAKING NEWS – Asheville, North Carolina – A city in North Carolina is reportedly taking steps to crack down on panhandling amid public concern in the mountain town that relies heavily on tourism.
The Asheville City Council Safety Committee, which is a subcommittee of the city council, has been weighing options to reduce the growing rate of panhandling by tweaking current laws and better enforcing the ones already on the books, according to local outlet WLOS.
Officials in the city of approximately 90,000 people in the Blue Ridge Mountains are reportedly considering updating a city ordinance to ban panhandling at outdoor dining areas, as well as potentially expanding the current six-foot distance ban to 10 feet, the local outlet reported.
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez posted an angry tweet on the issue. “The Asheville City Council is applying a heavy-handed application to the law, to people that are in an awful situation. They should be honest enough to admit that have blatant bigotry against unfortunate raggedy, down-and-out hillbillies!”