Several small towns within Larimer County received letters from the American Civil Liberties Union demanding they repeal “unconstitutional” laws that restrict panhandling.

Berthoud, Estes Park, Windsor, Wellington and Timnath are among 31 municipalities that received letters from the Colorado ACLU as part of a coordinated effort organized by the National Center on Homelessness and Poverty that is targeting 240 ordinances in 12 states.

Their argument is that the “outdated” ordinances prohibit “peaceful, nonintrusive” requests for charity, and that plea for help is protected by the First Amendment. The letters to the municipalities ask them to repeal their individual laws and, until that is complete, stop enforcing them immediately.

“An outstretched hand can convey human suffering, can remind passersby of the gap between rich and poor, and in some cases, can highlight a lack of jobs and social services,” Rebecca Wallace, a staff attorney with the Colorado ACLU, said in a press release.

The letters sent via email to the town mayors outlined issues the ACLU claims with each ordinance, saying they “unfairly target poor and homeless persons” and are “legally indefensible.”

Berthoud and Wellington have municipal ordinances that prohibit loitering “for the purpose of begging,” according to the correspondence. Windsor’s municipal code “broadly criminalizes begging,” while Estes Park doesn’t allow panhandling on public transportation, and Timnath “criminalizes panhandling under a wide variety of circumstances that post no threat to public safety.”

The letters were dated Tuesday, Aug. 28, and not all of the mayors listed on the letters were able to be immediately reached.

Estes Park’s Mayor Todd Jirsa said he couldn’t comment until he had a chance to speak with the town attorney and would be available for response on Wednesday, and Berthoud Mayor Will Karspek, too, said he would have more information in the future, after talking with the town administrator and attorney.

“We will be reviewing that, and I can let you know from there how we end up,” Karspeck said in a voicemail to the Reporter-Herald.

In 2015, a federal court struck down a Grand Junction ordinance, challenged by the ACLU, that restricted the circumstances under which people could ask for charity. That court case led both the city of Loveland and Larimer County to change their panhandling rules. Loveland repealed its ban in July of 2015, while Larimer County altered its rules in April of 2016.

The county, according to past news accounts, prohibits panhandling in the unincorporated county near public streets and highways “in a manner that may cause a person to feel intimidated or unsafe.”

Many of the ordinances the ACLU is challenging — and asking municipalities to repeal and stop enforcing — are broader than the Grand Junction restrictions that were found unconstitutional and subsequently repealed.

Since that case in 2015, and a U.S. Supreme Court case the same year also affirmed free speech protections in regard to panhandling, more than 25 panhandling ordinances have been found unconstitutional and many other cities and towns have repealed their rules against panhandling, according to the press release from the ACLU.

“Punishing homeless people with fines, fees, and arrests simply for asking for help will only prolong their homelessness,” Maria Foscarinis, executive director at the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, said in a press release. “Housing and services are the only true solutions to homelessness in our communities.”

Pamela Johnson: 970-699-5405, johnsonp@reporter-herald.com