Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker is planning an ordinance to outlaw "aggressive begging." It's the latest in a series of regulations around the country, from Los Angeles to Ft. Lauderdale, that outlaw various aspects of homelessness and make criminals out of people with no place to go.

An initial draft of the ordinance forbids panhandling on public transportation or within 20 feet of an ATM, church or sidewalk cafe. It also says that panhandlers can't block someone's way or threaten them. The regulation would be enforced by police officers with varying degrees of compassion, many of them the same ones who hand out loitering tickets to panhandlers now.

Tell Mayor Becker that panhandling is not a dangerous epidemic -- it's a symptom of homelessness. These people don't need tickets and jail time; they need jobs and housing.