Atlanta Politicians Propose Banning Sagging Pants

[Blackthor]

Though I think people look stupid with their underwear showing and should dress in a decent manner. I can see this as a Gateway Law to more restrictions. There hasn't even been a PSA type campaign concerning this, straight to fines and jail time.......... jail time over pants! (six months in Louisiana)

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,294269,00.html

Quote:Atlanta Politicians Propose Banning Sagging Pants
Thursday , August 23, 2007



ADVERTISEMENTATLANTA —

Baggy pants that show boxer shorts or thongs are becoming a "major concern" throughtout the United States and should be banned in Atlanta, according to a proposed amendment to the city's indecency laws.

"I don't want young people thinking that half-dressing is the way to go. I want them to think about their future," the amendment's sponsor, city councilman C. T. Martin said Wednesday.

Debbie Seagraves, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia, said the law could not be enforced in a nondiscriminatory way because it targets something that came out of the black youth culture.

"This is a racial profiling bill that promotes and establishes a framework for an additional type of racial profiling," she told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for its Thursday editions.

The proposed ordinance would also bar women from showing the strap of a thong beneath their pants. They would also be prohibited from wearing jogging bras in public or show a bra strap, Seagraves said.

The proposed ordinance states that "the indecent exposure of his or her undergarments" would be unlawful in a public place. It would go in the same portion of the city code that outlaws sex in public and the exposure or fondling of genitals.

The penalty would be a fine in an amount to be determined, Martin said.

Any legislation that creates a dress code would not survive a court challenge, Seagraves said.

Martin, who is black, said he plans to hold public hearings and vet the proposal through churches, civil rights groups and neighborhood organizations.

"The purpose of the paper is to generate some conversation to see if we can find a solution," Martin said. "It will be like all the discussions we've had around the value of the hip-hop culture. We know there are First Amendment issues ... and some will say I'm just trying to put young black men in jail, but it's going to be fines."

Atlanta would not be the first city to take on sagging pants.

Earlier this year, the town council in Delcambre, Louisiana, passed an ordinance that carries a fine of up to $500 or six months in jail for exposing underwear in public. Several other municipalities and parish governments in Louisiana have enacted similar laws in recent months.

[Rod]

I agree with your premise, this is how must of the really bad laws start out. We‘ll make something illegal that most agrees is bad and then next thing you know wearing a 9/11 inside Job shirt will be just as “illegal.” This is one of the most devious methods used on us as its so very hard to explain the natural evolution of such legislation to common sheeple.

[SerialExpLain]

Must be someones misinterpretation of interventions against crack abuse, lol

[Shinobi]

InSaNe! lol SerialExpLain

[Cycle of Eternity]

lol, they can't possibly make a law against how people dress.
that's just stupid and if it passes, it shows how stupid people are
to let that happen.

[pizzaman777]

They just tried to pass this up in a Connecticut town too. I just saw on the news that I think it didn't pass...