Todd Tinkham is convinced he's not a panhandler.

He's homeless. The 48-year-old who says he's a Vietnam vet lives under an overpass on Fifth Street downtown.

He doesn't work. A former warehouse supervisor, Tinkham says he lost his wife and daughter two years ago in a traffic accident and his son to illness a year later.

He solicits money from strangers. I met him on Fourth Street, where he held a sign asking for change.

Tinkham says he's not a panhandler because he doesn't bother anybody. He accepts food and cash, but says he doesn't spend it on alcohol or drugs.

He lets his sign do the talking, he says.

Soliciting with a smile

Cleveland is another beggar who denies the panhandler label. He and his wife work on Fifth Street. He's friendly, greets people with a "Good morning" or a "Hello."

Call him a "cup-shaker" or "sign-flyer." He says he doesn't need to ask for cash.

"Ray" - not his real name - also solicits with a smile. I spent an hour with him Thursday near Tower Place, where a restaurant worker said he's well known.

A woman hugged him. Several men stopped to give him change or a chat. He didn't ask for money.

"This isn't panhandling; it's human relations," he says.

Clearly some of downtown Cincinnati's panhandlers are harmless, a part of the landscape.

But some street corner solicitors are vultures, using people's ignorance and fear to intimidate them into donating.

I've met them, too. They've shouted at me as I passed.

Cause of consternation

City Council's new ordinance, rushed into passage Wednesday, is supposed to cut down on "aggressive" panhandlers.

It requires those asking for money to get a photo license. If they don't and are caught, they could spend 30 days in jail.

It's hard to know how many beggars would be affected. How many are aggressive?

There are enough to cause consternation among business owners who, represented by Downtown Cincinnati Inc., pushed for this new law.

But will the measure stop the scary beggars, the ones who discourage downtown shopping?

Councilwoman Y. Laketa Cole doesn't think so. She was one of three who voted against the new measure because, she said, it legitimizes begging.

One woman who had been followed to her car by a spurned panhandler told Cole after the vote that she'll definitely avoid downtown now that the city is licensing panhandlers instead of making it harder to panhandle.

Cincinnati already outlaws aggressive soliciting, and police have doubled arrests for it, Cole says.

"We're sending the wrong message. We should be stopping it,'' Cole says.

"Now, panhandlers have more rights."

All three men I spoke with believe they don't need to get this license. They're not panhandlers.

They say they don't accost passersby, or pursue them or shout after them.

Those kinds of panhandlers, Tinkham says, are desperate. Many are drug users who've run out of funds from monthly assistance checks.

Would that sort be likely to get a license? I doubt it.

"They'll just keep moving," Ray says. And keep police moving after them.

Meanwhile, I bet the new law will affect beggars like Todd Tinkham, Cleveland and Ray. I'm not sure I want them in jail.

I think I can tell a good beggar from a bad one. But I'm not 100 percent sure.

Can city leaders or police be sure? Will a picture ID tell them?

E-mail damos@enquirer.com or phone 768-8395.