Beggars are not rousted by police and run out of town in this country today. They don't go to the poorhouse. They don't go to jail. They go to court!
A class-action lawsuit that alleged that Indianapolis police were violating the rights of panhandlers has been squashed.
[. . .]
A group of four men claimed police shouldn't be able to prohibit them from asking for money on the street.
The men were seeking class-action status for all of the city's panhandlers, but the judge said the group didn't prove it had enough support for such a lawsuit.
Not enough panhandlers for a class-action suit -- Indianapolis should be grateful for small favors. But those four got their case heard, a sign of how civilized we've become. Any more civilized, and our cities would be unlivable.
