VIDEO: Fashion Police in Pine Lawn
On Monday, Pine Lawn became the first town in Missouri to ban sagging pants.
According to the ordinance, pants are illegally sagging if they show underwear or skin below the waist. This law applies to males and females.
Those who violate the law face a $100 fine and the parents of violating minors can be charged $500 or sentenced to 90 days in jail.
Mayor Sylvester Caldwell says he received complaints about the fashion from elderly members of the community. Also, he thinks the law will make Pine Lawn more appealing to developers, although no developers specifically said they had a problem with excessively loose pants.
The law has come under fire as a way for police to target young people. Pine Lawn Police Chief Rickey Collins says this is not the case. He points to specific language in the ordinance that says sagging pants are not grounds for search and arrest, and he said he will only issue fines to people who repeatedly sag their pants in public.
Despite criticism, Caldwell believes he has made the right decision by sponsoring the law. He also said other municipalities are interested in similar bans.
About This Author: Antonio D. French is a writer, political consultant, and newly-elected Democratic Committeeman living in north St. Louis, Missouri. Have your own opinion about this story? Go ahead and leave a comment. But be respectful to others and show you own a pair by actually using your real name. Anonymity is cowardice. And don't forget to subscribe to our feed and get PubDef stories delivered right to your feed reader or email inbox.
Comments
This seems like a direct violation of ones freedom of speech. How can wearing your clothes a certian way be deemed as unlawful, while I do agree its bad taste, governement should not be trying to regulate the way people chose wear their clothes.
As long as its not indecent exposure, no form of government has the constitutional right to prohibit how you choose to wear your clothing. Sagging pants definitely does not fall under indecent exposure. I have heard of no cases were someone was given jail time for the buttcrack showing. Like I said I find sagging distasteful, but neither I, nor the government has the right (under the US Constitution) to regulate how you wear your clothing. The only law that I can agree with, pertaining to clothing, is the indecent exposure law, and that does not have a broad enough interpretation to give someone jail time for sagging or their but buttcracks showing.
While many find this funny, I personally feel like its an infringement on my civil liberties as a citizen. Its small cases such as these that give broad ranging latitude for government to chip away at civil liberties. We have lost enough freedoms in the last 6 years all the way from federal laws, states laws, and now local laws.
This also is targeted legislation at young blacks, when was the las time you heard of Gothic clothing being deemed illegal???
That fist post is about as dumb as the ordinance. I hate to name call, but somebody has to say it. I am deeply sorry if some one has rubbed their saggy pants warring booty in your face, but no on is making me look at saggy pants boxers.
The first amendment means you can ware your pants low.
Look, making fashion laws is stupid. Literally creating fashion police is a waste of time money and brain cells.
Some one probably will say that I am stifling discussion by name calling, but few thousand dollar court settlement and embarrassment on national news will hurt pine lawn allot more than name calling.
While I want to protect myself against seeing an unattractive rear end, I am likewise torn by my desire to see a cute bum now and then.
I am also thinking that sagging pants would be a boon for the biggest developers…like strip clubs and casinos!
I am also thinking you can’t require people to buy pants that fit.
And unless someone’s free expression violates another person’s rights (and as far as I know there’s no law about an individual’s right to not see boxers)–GAME OVER, Pine Lawn.
No one has mentioned potential female violators. What about women wearing low-rise pants that show the underwear? Depending on where you go, panties and thongs are way more visible than boxers.
Soap Box
It is sad that this can NOT be legislated. I think the sagging look has been exhausted; unfortunately, die-hards won’t let it go. Sadly there is no one who cares enough about these young men or whom they care enough for to listen about how ridiculous they look, but if sagging is outlawed, low cut blouses is next, fat people in tight pants after that, and just plain ugly folks will be outlawed finally. Too bad parents won’t get a handle on this, but young mothers buy even their toddlers clothes to emulate the knuckle-headed “fashion boys”. How sad they are -parents and children alike.
How many of you want to bet this law will backfire and encourage young people to sag even more?
Isn’t it the young person’s job to defy authority?
Remember being young?
How low, yes I remember that scene on saturday night live with Dan Akroyd. he was installing a refrigerator for a homeowner. When he turned around the crack of his butt was showing…It was funny as hell because we all have seen these type of repairmen with saggy pants..Now back to reality..I don’t know what to say about the youth that wear their trousers down to their butt. It just look so dayum stupid..You see them at shnucks. the mall..the service stations..When I was young we wore double knit slacks with chuck taylor sneakers..and that was back in the 70’s. the only difference was..we had a belt on above our waste..so the only thing that looked weired was the converse sneakers whereas we should have had on stacy adams..but at least our butts were covered …Well I hope this fad with the hanging trousers end soon because these young men look like dayum fools and they don’t even know it..
I am a gay male and I oppose the law! I love seeing the sweet rounded buttocks as these young men wobble along with their pants hanging low,makes me want to reach out and grab a handfull of their beautiful buttocks!
I don’t like to look at other people’s underpants, and I think sagging is silly, but it’s ridiculous to attempt to legislate this. The saggers are not indecent by any community standard. They are covered, if distastefully. Where the custom came from (the version above has been debunked, by the way) and what I think of it is irrelevant. This law is, thankfully, unconstitutional and will be struck down.