According to Mayor Carol Broussard and the Delcambre Town Council in Louisiana baggy pants are obscene. He has promised to sign an anti-sag ordinance passed unanimously this week.
The ordinance states, “It shall be unlawful for any person in any public place or in view of the public to be found in a state of nudity, or partial nudity, or in dress not becoming to his or her sex, or in any indecent exposure of his or her person or undergarments, or be guilty of any indecent or lewd behavior.”
The mayor says: “If you expose some of your privates, the crack of your behind, if somebody feels insulted they should press charges. If you’re offended by it, we want to straighten that out.”
The law carries some weight with it. Penalties of up to six months in jail and a $500 fine are possible for wearing pants that hang so low as to display a person’s underwear. The ordinance isn’t needed because the state has an indecent exposure law, resident Sylvester Harris said during Monday’s meeting. But town attorney Ted Ayo said the measure expands on the state law by adding underwear to the list of forbidden exposures.
“This is a new ordinance that deals specifically with sagging pants,” Ayo said. “It’s about showing off your underwear in public.”
Another town resident Adam George, who wears baggy pants, said the law can be used to unfairly target some people.
“It’s just going to be harassment,” he said at the Monday meeting. “People that don’t like me are going to call and complain on me and say I’ve got saggy pants. I’m going to have to pay to bond out, even if I’m right. It’s not like I’m showing my privates or anything like that,” George said. “It’s my boxers.”
Its too early to tell if there is a trend towards legislating a dress code, but Dallas, Texas is considering a similar ordinance. Dallas school district trustee Ron Price wants the City Council to consider banning the wearing of oversized trousers that often slip low enough to expose underwear. He calls such fashion “disrespectful, dishonorable and disgusting.” City Attorney Tom Perkins said this week he’s investigating the legalities and will report back to the city council.
Most people who prefer baggy pants consider it a dress style and see nothing wrong with exposing their underwear. There are some law enforcement issues that are of some concern to police officers. Baggy pants can very easily hide many types of weapons and drugs as explained in this video.
Baggy pants have also caught the attention of the Florida Sate Senate. The bill currently circulating in the Florida State Senate would make the wearing of baggy pants, worn at a level that reveals underwear, forbidden in public schools or while students are on any part of school property, this would include buildings and playgrounds. If passed into law, it would provide for penalties ranging from a warning for the first offense to a possible 10-day suspension for multiple violations.
Those opposed to the saggy pants and exposed underwear see this kind of attire first of all as sloppy, undisciplined and contrary to any sensible dress code one might establish. There is certainly nothing in the falling down pants and climbing up underwear that says “learning” , “concentration”, or “order”. Some educators may find that it is hard to create a serious atmosphere in the classroom when all are tuned in to the latest free underwear show in aisle two.
Some safety minded adults point out that the easiest place to conceal a weapon and bring it into a school situation is via the baggy pants vehicle. In the wake of the horrific violence at Virginia Tech University everyone is looking for ways to keep our children more secure in their own schools.
Some opponents of the baggy pants law see this legislation as just another example of government micro management. There is no need they insist for the State Senate of Florida to be putting itself in charge of what kids wear to school. That’s a matter between parents and children and government should keep its long nose out. Every generation has had its own crazy fads and fancies . If this one happens to think showing the waistline of their underwear is “cool” we should just go with the flow. The more attention that is given to something so minor the more it becomes something more major.
