Highway begging ban called ‘despicable’

OLYMPIA – A senator who proposed a bill that would make panhandling on public highways a misdemeanor compared the practice to bears begging for food in Mount Rainier National Park.

“It used to be OK to feed the bears,” said Sen. Mike Carrell, R-Lakewood. “When people stopped feeding them, they did not starve to death. They became productive bears.”

Sen. Adam Kline, the Democratic chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, replied, “Bears were not there because they couldn’t find work. These are human beings who are reduced to this position.”

The Senate bill proposes a ban on people soliciting jobs or contributions on a public highway or intersection. The bill says that panhandling is unsafe for the solicitor, as well as the driver, who may be distracted.

Carrell said the bill would allow law enforcement officers the opportunity to intervene and possibly direct panhandlers to services.

“If these people are in real need, we have a safety net for that, but I’m not convinced that’s the case,” Carrell said. “If they are just simply professional beggars, then that’s where I believe we need to give them the bum’s rush.”

Kline, D-Seattle, said the bill – which was referred to the Senate Transportation Committee – “would not see the light of day” if it is sent to the judiciary committee.

“I’m frankly embarrassed that a colleague of mine would file a bill like this,” Kline said. “This is just despicable. It’s like something out of Dickens.

“If rich people were on the street, and we wanted them off, we’d give them a tax break,” he said. “It’s screw the poor, that’s what this is about.”

Carrell said that while driving south of Tacoma, he came across panhandlers who had created a pile of garbage 1-foot deep. He said the bill was intended to address the “underlying” problems that led to panhandling.

“It is not good for society to have begging,” Carrell said. “I never saw that as a child. It says something about society.”