Panhandling ordinance debate continues in Biloxi

Recent complaints from Biloxi residents regarding panhandlers in the area have sparked a debate with the City Council.
At tonight’s meeting, residents expressed their complaints as City Council members discussed a new ordinance to be put in place to maintain the situation.
The ordinance has been in the works for weeks and would require each panhandler to apply for a city-issued license where panhandling would be legal, but prohibited, including bus stops, public parks, and near vehicles and ATMS. Vincent Creel with City of Biloxi Public Affairs said, “City Council voted to approve two important measures that Mayor Gilich says are a step towards dealing with aggressive panhandling and they help define loitering. What we’ve seen happen in Biloxi, like cities across the country, there has been an influx in what is known as aggressive panhandling.”
The amendment to the loitering ordinance would correct the existing ordinance that Mayor Gilich’s administration says is ‘constitutionally overbroad and vague.”