STEPHENHEMELT
CITYEDITOR

What started here in the Teche Area and never succeeded continues to waste time across this state.

The topic of concern is just how low is too low for saggy pants and, more precisely, can a government body actually enforce a law banning saggy pants in the public?

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The Tangipahoa Parish Council became the latest public entity to take up this going-nowhere issue when that board voted Monday to prevent passage of an expanded indecent exposure ordinance making it unlawful for any person to expose his or her person or undergarments, due to sagging of pants.

An Associated Press story said the law, if passed, would have required the court to issue a warning for a first-time conviction, and fines up to $500, and/or imprisonment up to six months for subsequent convictions.

“Council Chairman Carlo Bruno said he felt enforcement of the ordinance would take valuable time away from law enforcement officers who needed to be more concerned with preventing robberies and addressing crimes of violence,” the story said.

Bruno makes a valid point all elected officials should take to heart. Saggy pants laws are simply not practical from a municipal standpoint.

It would be a legal nightmare if a person was fined or arrested for having jeans on that were deemed too low. What is the judging point? Is it the belly button? Is it the hips?

What about a person who had gastric bypass surgery and lost a lot of weight in a short period of time? Would that person’s ever-tightening belt be the only thing that keeps them out of jail while money was saved for new clothes?

The point is, people need to take personal responsibility for keeping themselves sufficiently clothed. When parish, town and city boards try to regulate it, they become the ones who look sloppy.

STEPHENHEMELT

CITYEDITOR