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Saggy Pants Debate in Charlotte
UPDATE: The board voted 6 to 1 against Commissioner Bill James' proposal to refer a "saggy pants" ban to a county committee for study. (Read More: WBTV- Charlotte Observer)
WBTV reported about a possible ban on saggy pants in Charlotte. City Leaders asking for an ordinance aren't concerned with extra big or baggy pants in general-- only those baggy pants that expose underwear or boxers.
Calling it the "Pull Em Up" ordinance, Mecklenburg County commissioner Bill James says he will suggest that the county and city health and safety committees recommend making "saggy pants" part of what's defined as indecent exposure. James will propose the ordinance at the commissioners meeting tonight.
The origin of saggy pants is up for debate, but many experts agree that it's an evolution of ill-fitting prison garb. Since belts are banned in jail and uniforms aren't tailor-made, pants would sag. It is believed former inmates brought the fashion to the streets and the sagging phenomenon was born.
Cities with Saggy Pants Ordinances:
* Shreveport & Alexandria, LA: Ordinance allows some sag, but 3 inches or more can bring a fine of $25 to $200 and a requirement for community service.
* Hawkinsville, GA: The ordinance states it is 'unlawful for any person to appear in any public place or in view of the public wearing pants or shorts below the waist, which expose the skin or undergarments.' The penalty is a $250 fine and 40 hours of community service.
* Delcambre, LA: Ordinance states: Wearing pants low enough to show boxers or buttocks can result in six months jail time and a $500 fine.
Cities Considering Banning Saggy Pants: Trenton, NJ, Atlanta, GA, Dallas, TX, Stratford, CT, Stantonsburg, NC, Duncan, OK, Pine Bluff, AR, Opa-Locka City, FL, Baltimore, MD, Jamaica
25 Comments:
While I don't wear or like saggy pants, I worry that we are going down a dangerous road when government is allowed to regulate more and more. Ask yourself, was there no crime or gangs BEFORE saggy pants were popular?
Whats next, the banning of religious jewelry? Banning of sports jerseys? Banning of miniskirts?
Why doesn't Bill James find a REAL cause to champion?
Think of this as step one of the Broke Window Effect.
A cop can stop a thug for having baggy pants and may "Terry" frisk him for safety reasons once stopped. Sounds like a way to get weapons off the street to me.
standard issue police gear -- gun, nightstick, pepper spray, ruler??? what a complete gigantic waste of time and resources.
'Cause this will help us out a horrible crime problem...
Giving police reasonable suspicion to stop any thug with baggy pants is a start...don't you think?
So is every female wearing revealing clothing a hooker? Don't get me wrong, I'm all for putting an end to crime, but I'd rather have the police chasing a suspect that pulling out their ruler. My son has no waist, is a law abiding citizen, and is "clean cut". Yes, I can see his boxer's at times. How about measuring from the knees up? Most will sport the buggy pants with the crotch at the knees fashion. Not to worry. Most criminals can't run with their crotch at their knees. Heck, they can hardly walk!
this is a good plan....
once we get rid of the baggy pants, there will be no more thugs.
next, we should stop the production of bandannas so all the gangs will disappear!
Sounds to me like a case of your son dressing, looking and probably acting like a thug...but magically "being a good boy who never did nothing wrong."
I don't see honor students walking around wearing prison stripes. Your child will be treated exactly they way they are presented.
It's pretty sad that our society needs to consider such laws because CERTAIN people cannot wear their cloths normally like the rest of us. Next we will see a law that prohibits CERTAIN people from driving while their seat is fully reclined. whats next?
I think if they are going to make the laws they need to apply them to everyone...even the blond hair young twits with their thongs showing out of the top of their designer jeans.
This isn't about exposing underwear. This IS about the young men (ALL colors) who wear pants so low they expose their butt, etc. Why not just walk around in your underwear? or better yet send 'em to jail & they can sport the 'cool' fashions there.
Having bagging pants is the fashion for a lot of young kids. The city shouldnt banned this...most felons try to run from the police in baggy pants. The police can catch up to them a lot easier this way.
HUGE MISTAKE! First and most important, when government dictates what to wear and how to wear it you might as well stop the elections. We are quickly becoming a Stalinist society. The real crime is murder, drug deals, rape, kidnapping, robbery but fear not~with the capture and control of all baggy pants the rest of society will quickly conform to no wrong doing! I think the baggy pant look is gross but I sure as heck dont want the government telling me what I cant wear. Suddenly no more pants for women, no more work for women....talk about steps backward!
You want to fix some problems....start putting criminals in jail for the duration of the sentence, stop bargaining every charge down, stop making prison a place to gain street cred. Build more prisons and start cracking down on criminals~public hangings may not be a bad idea. The only people making crime okay is our government by not taking action against the criminals. Not every person wearing baggy pants is a criminal~thats a sterotype of sheer stupidity.
Who lets their child go in front of the county commisioners and say "God took punishment for all of us" and "this is like slavery?"
The parents of those children should be ashamed of themselves and the county commisioners should have admonished the parents right then and there for the slavery reference.
They all look like they've run out of toilet paper, and are dashing to the other bathroom with pants around their knees to get another roll.
Unfortunately, it is what it is. When you have CHILDREN raising children, what do you get? Basically, the blind leading the blind.
I don't like the baggy pants either, but like previous bloggers, we need to focus on the real criminals and stop making jails/prisons like summer camps!
So of all the 180+ persons who voted for the ordinance how many were at the meeting? I thought so. Let the police fight crime. Jail time for showing boxers. Gee, isn't that where they compare notes, learn how to hot wire cars and spend their time talking about the crime they've committed. How about the job application they have to fill out when they are released? Ever arrested? Yes, for showing my boxers. Most employers aren't interested in the crime, just that they did the time. Anyway, if they change their looks how will we know who the real "thugs" are.
Well, there you have it. Once again the county commissioners (that have been VOTED in) has shown their hug a thug way of thinking. The question I have is this. Do the thugs out vote the citizens that want Charlotte to be a good place or do the citizens not care as much as I had hoped?
like it or not...... and i don't for the record,.. but anyhow, ........... you can't legislate something like this................. if anyone believes anything in the constitution of the USA this is so unconstitutional it shouldn't even be given the attention its already been alotted...............
Think of how much money Charlotte could make from the fines. Maybe we could build a new jail or something.
I will always disrespect anyone showing their underwear, boxers or thongs. But I agree w/Chad.
Isnt this kinda like immagration laws? Indecent exposure is already against the law, just not being enforced?
Unless you can figure out how to make this law apply to bikini clad women at the beach, it is over-inclusive and under-inclusive, hence unconstitutional.
I still like the idea. It gives cops the ability to approach and saggy-panted thug and once approached, they may frisk for weapons for their own safety. We may get dozens of weapons per night. When the criminal charges or fines are challenged in court, it's not as if we give the illegal weapons back.
C'mon people! I mean LOOK at that picture! It says a lot about how idiotic those who participate in this so-called 'fashion' are! I have news for those who fight for their fashion freedom: this style was 'in' 15 yrs ago on the west coast and northeast, it is no longer the 'urban' style. It amazes me how behind the 'urban' times the south is for urban fashion. They'd laugh you off the streets in NYC or LA!
We can rid the problem of sagged pants in Char/Mech schools easily. It's an eight letter word; UNIFORMS. You might want to add suspenders as an age-old solution to sagging pants while your at it. At least it might make a few mamas proud their sons finally will have learned how to haul-up their drawers and begin to look like a man!
I am someone who grew up in the hood and got away from it at the age of 17. I do feel that banning saggy pants should be enforced because the probability of those who were them are greater in low income neighborhoods and these men OR women do not have secondary education. Because of my many years of experience knowing drug dealers and living around them, that saggy pants can give police a clue about who is selling drugs. Don't get me wrong here, there are many young college men who wear saggy pants and they are not selling drugs or involved in criminal activity but they should ezxamine their demeanor and ask what would my future employer think about the way I look. I know this may be wrong but anytime I see a young man wearing jeans so low that he has to hold them up, I think of drug dealer, pot smoker, or rapper. I understand that many of you will not agree with me but I do know there is a better way for these men to dress and present themselves in society.
Sometimes you wonder as an average citizen are they approachable, because their demeanor can be intimidating, especially to the young men who do not wear their clothes that way.
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