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Dallas City Council Moving Forward on Saggy Pants Ordinance

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout: Debate & Discussion' started by pgabriel, Oct 5, 2007.

  1. pgabriel

    pgabriel Educated Negro

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    Dallas councilman seeks to ban saggy pants
    Councilman says he wants to help improve young adults' self-image


    By THOMAS KOROSEC
    Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle Dallas Bureau


    DALLAS — Saying he is fed up with seeing young men in saggy pants, a councilman said Thursday he wants to pass a city ordinance to fine those who appear in public in the popular, prison-inspired fashion.

    Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway said his proposed "Public Display of Undergarments" measure "is not about race and it's not about government controlling how you dress."

    He said he wants to protect people "who don't want to see someone else's private parts" while at the same time helping young adults improve their self-image.


    Support from council
    Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert and four other council members appeared with Caraway at an afternoon news conference to express support for his effort.
    The idea was first broached in Dallas last year when a school trustee asked the council to act. They balked when complaints surfaced that such an ordinance could provoke legal challenges on First Amendment grounds.

    Such bans also have been opposed as racially biased because they disproportionately target younger black men and Hispanics.

    In August, Shreveport, La., became the first sizable city to outlaw "sagging." Its ordinance prohibits public wearing of pants that fall below the waist and expose skin or underwear and sets out a $25 fine for a first offense and no more than $200 for subsequent offenses.

    "It's not about profiling," said Caraway, who is black. "People talk about the right of free speech and free expression. By that same token we also have a right to try to teach and nurture our young individuals (about) what it takes to make it and be successful."

    Atlanta City Councilman C.T. Martin, who this summer proposed a saggy pants measure in his city that is pending, was also at the Dallas event. He said he was inspired to act by comedian Bill Cosby, who has criticized young black men for embracing the saggy look.

    "This is a world issue," said Martin. "I've been interviewed from Tokyo to Australia."

    Dallas school trustee Ron Price, who last year asked the council to ban baggy, low-riding pants, said, "We need to stop making excuses for bad behavior. Anybody walks around our city indecent, we need to do something about it."


    No plans in Houston
    A spokesman for Houston Mayor Bill White said the issue of low-riding pants has not come up in the city.
    "We don't anticipate doing anything about it at this time," spokesman Frank Michel said. "We don't see a big outcry about it in Houston and we have no shortage of serious matters we're contending with."

    Caraway said he plans to take a cautious approach with his proposal and not push it until gaining more public support and feedback.

    "People say it starts at home and they're right," he said. "Hopefully, home is listening as well."
     
  2. MadMax

    MadMax Member

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    Honestly, it surprises me Dallas doesn't have a whole slew of local ordinances regarding fashion.
     
  3. mc mark

    mc mark Member

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    Can we ban big hair and too much makeup?
     
  4. MadMax

    MadMax Member

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    i think that's required there.

    and men need to spend 3x their net worth on accessories.
     
  5. thumbs

    thumbs Member

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    DFW Rag, Bag & Sag Nags Gag on Fashion Lag!
     
    #5 thumbs, Oct 5, 2007
    Last edited: Oct 5, 2007
  6. Refman

    Refman Member

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    Leave all of their murses out of this. :D

    To quote Jeff Foxworthy: "Why is it that walking down the street I have to see the underwear of every teenage boy in America?"

    Frankly, that a city would even need an ordinance on this is just plain sad.
     
  7. underoverup

    underoverup Member

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    baggy pants are not allowed but big hair is !! :eek:
     
  8. Ubiquitin

    Ubiquitin Member
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    I would be fined, since I still wear baggy pants.
     
  9. MrRolo

    MrRolo Member

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    what if the person is wearing a tall tee and sagging.. the tall tee would not expose the underwear or skin as the law states.
     
  10. Refman

    Refman Member

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    Amazingly, at that point I don't think there is a problem. The kid may have a hard time getting his wallet out of his back pocket since it's behind his knees, but not a problem.

    Personally, it only bugs me when I can see the kid's underwear. It's so unnecessary that it irritates me to no end. Not sure why...just an idiosyncracy I guess.
     
  11. Deckard

    Deckard Blade Runner
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    Houston is so much better than Dallas. Yes, I've lived in Austin for 27 years, but still consider myself a Houstonian. Thank god I'm from there and not from Dallas. I might have to do myself in just knowing I was from such a puffed-up empty suit of a town. Dallas sucks. Dallas will always suck, and Houston will always be better than Dallas.

    Houston Rocks!
     
  12. B-Bob

    B-Bob "94-year-old self-described dreamer"
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    Just two weeks ago, I saw a kid wipe out running to catch a city bus. His pants just slipped down in a pile at his ankles while he was trying to run. It was a great expression of US American youth, god love 'em. He was hoisting the pants with one hand, and he had a cell phone in the other. His distraction with the phone led him to lose his grip on the "pants." The bus drove on, by the way.
     

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