Cutting Some Slack for Saggy-Baggies

Can the ban of saggy pants be considered an infringement on a persons civil rights?

By Staff Reports

Charlotte, NC – The October 16th Meckenburg County Commisioners meeting rivaled a three-ring circus when advocates and opponents took to the lectern to adress the Commission.

The issue? The latest street fashion phenomenon worn cross-culturally by any number of youth, and some adults.

It’s a style of fashion some say started in prisons, where, to avert suicides, inmates were given baggy uniforms with no belts. On being released, beltless former inmates appeared in public with their pants sagging down, and the sagging-bagging phenomenon was born.

By the mid ‘80s, the trend had made it to rap videos, and then went on to skateboarders in the suburbs and high schools. No cultural group has gone unaffected. This saggy-wearing/underwear-showing trend has caused communities around the country to react, leading to ordinances and laws banning certain styles of this fashion trend. Mecklenburg County was no different.

This high-spirited saggy-pant debate began when it was
bought before the Mecklenburg County Commissioners in early October.
Board member Bill James was approached by concerned community members
and took up the task to refer a “saggy pants” ban to a county committee
for study. Calling it the “Pull Em Up” ordinance, James suggested that
the county and city health and safety committees recommend making
“saggy pants” part of what is defined as indecent exposure.

In a drafted text of the ordinance James proposed that “Any person who,
while in a public place, intentionally wears and displays their below
the waist undergarments, intended to cover a person’s personal body
parts, in a lewd or indecent manner, shall be subject to a civil
penalty of no more than $50.”

Can the wearing of saggy pants be considered indecent exposure?

“This is not to control fashion,” James noted, “but to insure that
clothes are worn in such a way as not to offend the general standards
of decency and decorum that citizens have determined necessary for a
well-governed county.”

Twenty-four community members were slated to speak before the
commissioners on this proposal, and all were called to the lectern to
give their one-minute views. Rev. Willie Simpson, who had appeared
before the commissioners on numerous occasions pleading for such a
measure, shared his viewpoint.

“I don’t know if any of you know about visions, but this is not a thing
you want to see,” Simpson said. “I’ve went from New York to Tennessee
and never seen such until I came back to my hometown of Charlotte. To
see these youth wearing their pants hanging off their buttocks is
terrible – underwear is not outerwear. It’s bad, and it’s getting
worse!”

James Barnette took his turn with this comment: “Yes, saggy pants are a
problem but this is not something to be played out in the political
arena; it should be up to the parents to police their children in the
privacy of their homes.”

Stephon Grace, who was wearing saggy pants, made his way to the podium.
“I don’t agree with some people dropping their pants so you can see
their underwear,” Grace said. “But since I don’t buy their clothes, I
can’t tell them how to dress.”

Martin Davis also spoke in favor of the ordinance, stating he leaned
towards being a Libertarian, and didn’t necessarily care for a police
state of government. Davis wrapped up his one-minute speech in a short
but rhyming statement. “If the police see a crack,” Davis said, “they
should attack!”

Amid the applauses, laughs, and amen’s from the audience, Commissioner
Dumont Clarke stated: “As I was walking to this board meeting, I walked
through some of the more urban parts of town. I did see young men with
sagging pants, but their shirts covered them – almost to their ankles.
I’m afraid this is not something the county wants to tackle. Next we’ll
be policing people with tattoos, and who knows what else. But I will
say that these youth need to take their futures into consideration.”

Chairperson-At-Large Jennifer Robert summed things up after hearing the
consensus of both the community and commission. “What is interesting
about this is where we all stand on this issue. Yes, it is a concern,
but it’s a parenting issue, a church issue, and a community issue. I
wouldn’t like it if my child were told how to dress, that’s for me to
decide with my child, and my family. We’ll stick to just doing the
county’s business,” concluded Roberts.

The ordinance failed to pass by a vote of 6 to 1. The cities of
Alexandria, Port Allen, and Shreveport, Louisiana have officially
joined a handful of cities across the nation by banning the fad of
wearing pants so saggy that they expose a person’s underwear. Atlanta
and Newark, New Jersey are considering the same. In most of these
cities violators could be fined $25 to $250 for a first offense, and
$250 to $500 for repeat offenses. At the extreme end, wearing pants low
enough to show bare buttocks in one small Louisiana town means six
months in jail and a $500 fine.