Can State Legally Outlaw Saggy Pants?

“I see kids walking around with their pants down below the belt, and it’s not decent.” — Opa-Locka City Commissioner Timothy Holmes [Photo: Joshua Prezant]

In his 14 years on the Opa-Locka City Commission, Timothy Holmes has become known as a straight talker. When he sees something he doesn’t like, he says something about it, and lately he’s been talking a lot about pants. “I do a lot of traveling to different municipalities and different counties in Florida, and I see kids walking around with their pants down below the belt, and it’s not decent,” he says. “It’s not respectable. It’s sending the wrong message.”

At Holmes’ urging, Opa-Locka last October approved a law barring saggy pants in city parks, city hall and other city properties. Following Opa-Locka’s lead, Baldwin, a town of 1,600 near Jacksonville, adopted an even stricter ordinance in January. Baldwin’s law makes it “unlawful for any person to appear in any public place or in view of the public intentionally wearing pants or shorts below the waist resulting in the exposure of skin or undergarments.” And now, state lawmakers are considering “an act relating to the indecent wearing of below-waist underwear” that its sponsor, state Sen. Gary Siplin, D-Orlando, says would ban “droopy britches” in public schools.

Siplin’s bill, co-sponsored in the House by Rep. Ed Bullard, D-Miami, is actually his fourth attempt to do something about saggy pants. His first try, which didn’t go far, would have made wearing droopy pants a felony. He’s optimistic the school-only proposal will pass this time. It calls for a warning after a first offense, a three-day in-school suspension after a second and a 10-day in-school suspension after a third.

While Larry Spalding, Florida legislative staff counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, thinks state lawmakers should spend their time on more important issues, he doesn’t see anything legally wrong with imposing clothing standards in schools — particularly since the courts already allow school districts and individual schools to impose dress codes. But Spalding says the legality of a city or county “regulating appearance” is not as clear. “I don’t think a whole lot would happen unless somebody got arrested,” he says. “I’m not sure what a court would do.”

So far, no one has been arrested in Baldwin, where a first-offense punishment is 40 hours of community service. A second offense can result in a fine of between $250 and $500 and 80 hours

of community service. Misty Sloan, a Baldwin assistant city clerk, says law officers have so far just warned youngsters in violation about the law and have told them to pull up their pants. The ACLU says it’s waiting until an arrest is made before it considers taking legal action.

The saggy pants issue isn’t just a Florida issue. Delcambre, a small town in Louisiana, passed an ordinance last year. Atlanta, Dallas and Detroit have also discussed bans.

For Holmes, the debate goes beyond fashion or decency — it’s about symbolism.

“This is something that came from the prisons,” he says. “In prison, the guys wouldn’t have belts, and the pants would drop below the waist.” Holmes also says that in prison, droopy pants indicate sexual availability. “I put that to the kids straight,” he says. “I tell them, ‘Is this what you’re trying to say?’ When they say ‘no,’ I say ‘so pull your pants up, son!’ ”

No matter, says Ken Hurley, chairman of the ACLU’s Jacksonville chapter, which includes Baldwin in its territory. “These are personal freedoms we’re talking about,” he says. “We take those seriously. A city shouldn’t get to decide who is allowed to be expressive. This is clearly targeted toward a certain segment of our population, too. It’s something that we’re going to take a look at.”

Tags: Politics & Law, Government/Politics & Law