On Tuesday, April 26th, Charleston City Council took the first steps against aggressive soliciation in our beloved city.

Many tourists and locals alike have made claims of being harrassed and lied to by Charleston street vendors.

Mayor Joe Riley even chipped in on the subject, saying, "It casts Charleston in a bad light, and it's a deceptive business practice." He went on to address the fact that some street vendors deliberately mislead the public: "People have left Charleston under the impression that the city of Charleston was selling time shares because they went into a place they thought was an official visitor's center."

A proposed ordinance was discussed during the meeting on Tuesday and was passed unanimously on the first reading. To actually pass as a law, it must pass on third reading as well. One aspect of the ordinance? A fine of $100 for violators. The ordinance would prohibit vendors from intentionally blocking a person's path, using abusive language, or touching people.

I say bring the ordinance on.

For more in-depth reports on this issue, check out an article by The Post and Courier as well as one on WCIV-TV (and be sure to watch the video from WCIV-TV above if you haven't already).