Legislation being proposed by the Anne Arundel County state delegation has the potential of violating the First Amendment if not properly crafted according to legal experts.
Senate Bill 252, and its companion, House Bill 276, have been proposed to ban the act of panhandling in Anne Arundel County, but last-minute amendments to the bills have expanded the scope of the legislation to prohibit political candidates from standing on street corners and waving to passing motorists and prevent businesses from paying signholders to stand on street corners.
Proponents for the bill claim the legislation would cut down on the number of distractions motorists face while driving.
Others believe there are civil liberty issues at stake.
“Political speech is supposed to be the highest form of free speech,” said Charles Rees, a professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law. Rees said that unless the bills are properly written, he foresaw them violating the First Amendment.
“I would think [Anne Arundel County legislators] would have to establish a causal relationship between traffic safety and these types of activities,” said Towson attorney Byron Warnken, also a law professor at the University of Baltimore.
