On Monday, Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn posted a photo of himself on social media that showed him signing two new ordinances that ban panhandling in downtown Tampa, Ybor City, and parts of West Tampa. The City Council voted 6-1 last week to approve the measures, which also apply to bus and trolley stops, sidewalk cafes, and anywhere within 15-feet of a financial institution in Tampa.
But city officials say the intention is not to arrest those found to be in violation of the ordinances, but to offer them a bed in a shelter.
"We will not arrest them," Buckhorn told CL on Sunday. "We think there will be enough beds available on a given night that we can give them the choice of either go to bed in a shelter, or go to jail. And you make that call. And hopefully those who are smart will make that call of going into a shelter and those who don't, well, those are ramifications for that."
This article appears in Jul 18-24, 2013.