In reaction to reports that some panhandlers in downtown Colorado Springs were intimidating and harassing pedestrians, the City enacted an ordinance that establishes a “Downtown No-Solicitation Zone” that applies in a twelve-city-block area that includes a city park and the central business and shopping district of downtown Colorado Springs.

The expansive definition of “solicitation” in the new ordinance banishes a substantial amount of peaceful, non-intrusive, and constitutionally-protected expression. Nonprofit organizations are forbidden to ask passersby for donations. Street musicians violate the ordinance by playing music while silently soliciting tips with a hat or open guitar case. Needy persons violate the ordinance by silently holding a sign that reads: “please help.” Hawking newspapers violates the ordinance, which also forbids the Salvation Army to deploy the familiar bell-ringers in Santa costumes.

Shortly after the ordinance was enacted, the ACLU filed a complaint in federal district court seeking an order permanently enjoining enforcement of the ordinance. Plaintiffs include several non-profits that seek donations in the downtown area; a street musician who plays music for tips in the downtown area; a needy person who requests assistance from passersby in the downtown area; and two Colorado Springs residents who want to receive requests for assistance from poor persons, non-profits and street musicians while in downtown Colorado Springs.

After an evidentiary hearing, the court ruled that the no-solicitation zone violated the First Amendment. In an oral ruling, it issued a preliminary injunction.  Colorado Springs then repealed the ordinance establishing the "no solicitation" zone. 

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ACLU case number

2012-24

Attorney(s)

Mark Silverstein, ACLU of Colorado Legal Director; Rebecca Wallace, ACLU of Colorado Staff Attorney; Sara J. Rich, ACLU of Colorado Staff Attorney; Mark Silverstein, ACLU of Colorado Legal Director; Rebecca Wallace, ACLU of Colorado Staff Attorney; Sara J

Case number

12-cv-3095