Louisiana Town Bans 'Sagging Pants'

[Kor37 9]

Louisiana Town Bans 'Sagging Pants'

AP

DELCAMBRE, La. (June 13) - Overly saggy britches are obscene, the Delcambre Town Council says. So does Mayor Carol Broussard, who said he will sign an anti-sag ordinance passed unanimously this week.

 

Jim Thompson, AP

Once Delcambre, La.'s new ordinance takes effect, people caught wearing pants that expose underwear or more will face fines of $500 and possible jail time.

 

The new indecent exposure ordinance in this Cajun-country town of about 2,000 carries penalties of up to six months in jail and a $500 fine for being caught in pants that show undergarments or, in the mayor's phrase, "private parts."

 

"I don't know if it will do any good, but it won't hurt," said Delcambre Councilman Albert Roy, who introduced the ordinance. "It's obvious, and anybody with common sense can see your parts when you wear sagging pants ."

 

The meeting Monday night packed the small trailer that has been Town Hall since Hurricane Rita swept in six feet of storm surge on Sept. 24, 2005.

 

Low-hanging, baggy pants have become a fashion fad, mostly for young men in the hip-hop culture. Several residents objected that the ordinance targeted blacks.

 

Broussard denied any racial motivation. "White people wear sagging pants, too. Anybody who wears these pants should be held responsible."

 

Although Roy, who is black, introduced the ordinance, he said a $500 fine is outrageous: "I think it should be something like $25."

 

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 law applies to women as well as men, the mayor said Wednesday. "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 clause about "dress not becoming to his or her sex" doesn't forbid cross-dressing, Broussard said. "A dress, I wouldn't find that obscene. As long as he covers himself and it's not too short."

 

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."

 

Town resident Adam George had another objection. "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."

 

Police Chief James Broussard said he didn't have a problem with George's pants, which hung below his waist but were covered by a long T-shirt.

 

"It's not like I'm showing my privates or anything like that," George said. "It's my boxers."

 

Mayor Broussard's public advice for people who like their pants to hang low: "Just wear it properly. Cover your vital parts. I mean, if you expose your private parts, you'll get a fine. If you walk up and your pants drop, you get a fine. They're better off taking the pants off and just wearing a dress."

 

 

 

Its about time SOMEONE has stepped up and done something about this National disgrace!...

[Odie 0]

But what will happen to all the plumbers?

[Gummy 0]

I don't think that plumbers count in this.

The hip-hop look sucks and needs to be fixed.

[Theunicornhunter 2]

What if they expose certain body parts from the other direction - ie today I saw an older woman - you know the kind that has really long hair about ten years past the time she have had it cut - with a skirt so short - well ----

[Odie 0]

I actually think the pants have been around so long is that people still complaining about it. When the complaining stops it will go out of fashion. With this law it people who do it will even more rebellious. At one time there was a law that banned women showing off their ankles, and it did not stop them from doing it.

Edited June 15, 2007 by Odie

[Theunicornhunter 2]

Mabye the pants are around because people have not complained enough - we've developed into such a let anybody do anything society that no one ever speaks up. Many young people have no idea what public decorum is. They also have no idea what an adult acting like an adult is.

[Kor37 9]

If they rebel against the new law and file a lawsuit, would it be a ..............pantsuit???...

[trekz 7]

But what will happen to all the plumbers?

Is that some kind of anti-plumber crack? :P

 

No buts about it, baggy pants can look bad on some people. :lol:

[Odie 0]

I can see teens and early twenties (even though are not much difference between the two ) might just ignore the law and where the pants anyway. It might encourage others that might not wear the pants to do the same thing. There are laws on books about decently. Why just use those laws and not make one that won't be enforced when the fashion goes out of style.

[Kor37 9]

UPDATE:

Louisiana panel blocks anti-droopy pants bill

By DOUG SIMPSON,AP

Posted: 2008-04-22 13:39:13

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - A state Senate panel rejected a bill on Tuesday that would make it a crime to wear one's pants too low, even as Cajun-country towns around Louisiana have been banning saggy pants from their streets.

 

Sen. Derrick Shepherd's bill would have made it illegal to wear, in public, clothing that "intentionally exposes undergarments or intentionally exposes any portion of the pubic hair, cleft of the buttocks or genitals." Violators would have faced a fine of up to $175 and eight days of community service.

 

Exceptions included thong swim suits and clothing worn in fashion shows.

 

Sen. Yvonne Dorsey said she disliked the look of baggy pants but wanted to defend the public's right to wear their clothes as they wish.

 

"When we begin to take the freedom of speech away ... I think we're doing something that's just not right," said Dorsey, a Democrat.

 

Shepherd said the state should take a stand against droopy pants, which he called just one example of widespread indecency in contemporary clothing styles.

 

"The shorts are getting shorter, the tops are getting smaller, the cleavage is getting larger," said Shepherd, also a Democrat. "When are we going to say, 'Enough is enough'?"

 

With no objection, the Senate judiciary panel voted against moving the measure to the floor.

 

Shepherd tried and failed to pass a similar bill in 2004, but the measure died in the face of opposition from the American Civil Liberties Union.

 

About a dozen Louisiana towns and cities have enacted or are considering bans on saggy pants.

 

The style is believed to have started in prisons, where inmates are issued ill-fitting jumpsuits but no belts to prevent hangings and beatings. The look was popularized in gangster rap videos.

 

On the Net:

Too bad........