Panhandling Ban Violates 1A in Denver

[GilpinGuy]

The last time I gave a beggar something was probably 10+ years ago on the 16th Street mall. I was going into some fast food joint and he was sitting there...with no legs...with his hand out. This dude obviously had some mental problems as well. Filthy, wild looking eyes, etc.

I bought some combo meal and handed it to him on my way out. I seriously don't remember the last time I handed one cash though.

[Great-Kazoo]

If you can't afford to feed yourself you can't afford a dog and all that goes with it. More bad decision making.

Last "guy " who tried asking me for cash. I told him if you're that hungry, kill your dog you'll have something to eat. If you stop smoking AND sell that $200 mountain bike, you'll be set. Fuck them. Why any one falls for their sob stories, is beyond me. Even worse the dumb fucks who roll their window down, for them . A good team could do smash and grabs without getting dirty..
Sally stupid would be too shocked to do anything, let alone give chase. Besides her pumpkin latte just spilled all over her lease vehicles interior.

[fj605]

We moved to Denver a few years ago and being the good baseballs fans we are, we went to a lot of games that first summer. After one game, there was a lady in the parking lot south of the ballpark begging for gas money so she could go pick up her daughter from daycare and my wife fell for it hook, line, and sinker and gave the lady $5 despite me telling her not to. Well, we went to the game the next day and the same lady was there in the same spot with the same story. My wife doesn't hand out money anymore.

The signature solicitors on 16th St are almost as bad as the panhandlers in my opinion.

[Skip]

Okay, I'll my story.

I've always been suspect of sob stories. There is lots of public/private help out there that I fund (some by choice, some not). But they won't help with drugs or alcohol hence we have panhandling.

I've bought people food before but that's it.

About three/four years ago I was downtown with my wife. Approached by a nice looking couple with a baby. Said they were out of gas, stranded, and needed gas money. Asked for $20. I told them "no, I've been taken too many times." They said thanks.

We have dinner and walk back to our car about 1.5 hours later. We see the same couple loading the baby/stroller into a brand new Dodge Ram with temp tags. We stand down the block and watch. They start the truck right up and drive off. There are no gas stations around.

At the time, that truck was nicer than vehicle I'd owned. In an hour or two they probably cleared $100 tax-free. More money than most make in a day.

[Aloha_Shooter]

One more reason to stay away from Denver IMO. I will not give cash to panhandlers but I have offered food to the vent men in Philadelphia when I was in college. I am happy to say that I never once had one refuse the food -- usually a German or Italian sausage with the fixiings, sometimes Chinese depending on what food truck was nearby and what the guy wanted. I think they were all grateful for the food (hard to remember if there were any exceptions after 30 years). I believe it's my Christian duty to help my fellow men but giving them cash is rarely helping them -- more often, it encourages bad behaviors -- and I don't believe the government taking more from me and giving out more free stuff to others has anything to do with Christian (or Jewish or Islamic or Taoist or ...) duty.

Direct personal charity warms the soul of the giver as well as the body of the receiver but it helps the receiver to know that the charity is in fact charity, not some "right" to stuff, and that it comes directly from someone's pocket.

[BlasterBob]

Down in Trinidad, just a few weeks ago, there was some local article that indicated that some of the Trinidad street corner beggars and panhandlers were "clearing" around a thousand per week. That's nice tax free money and a good number of these leeches have cell phones probably to stay in touch with their bookies, stock brokers and precious metals brokers.

[spqrzilla]

Just in case you thought Denver couldn't become more of a hole ...

[J]

I get suckered by the beggars with dogs every single time.

I look at the individual and think: 'You look like you can work'

I look at the dog and think: 'You're relying on them to eat'?

And then I give a few bucks.

They're probably just using the dog as a fishing lure for a sap like me, but I can't help myself.

I should probably start rolling around with dog food in my car.

I feel the same way. Next time I get food for the pooch I'll get an extra huge bag of the generic that we can parcel up and keep in our cars. Figure a week of food for the average sized dog in each package. Then the guy can choose to either feed his dog or eat the dog food, or be an ultra douche and throw it away out of spite.

[Ronin13]

I never give to those with their hands out at intersections. You just never know if they're going to take the money and then hop into a Mercedes or go and blow it on some crack. Either way, I don't enable them. Had an almost incident a few weeks ago on Colorado near the VA Hospital, the "panhandler" was shouting at cars that ignored him. He made his way to my window and tapped on the glass and started babbling some incoherent nonsense. I stared straight ahead while keeping him in my peripheral, and as he got more agitated my hand went to my gun on my hip just in case. Luckily the light turned green and I was able to drive off without incident. So sick of those bastards, though.

[RblDiver]

Reading through this reminded me of a funny bit. When I was getting ready to move back to CO after college in WA, I had to pick up some cardboard boxes to pack stuff in. I didn't have a car of my own, so I'd walked to the store and was walking home. Well, I paused at a light waiting for the walk light to turn on. I was wearing a brown coat (not dirty/dingy, but nothing fancy), and happened to be holding the cardboard next to my chest. A woman turning into the lane next to me slowed down like she was going to give me something, then continued driving when she realized I didn't actually have a sign written or anything.

Man, bet I missed out on $20! :P lol