Crackdown on Sagging Pants

Several city council members in Atlanta, Georgia, Delcambre, Louisiana, and Trenton, New Jersey are proposing bills that label sagging as illegal. A person sags their pants when they buy pants that are too big and they let them hang low off their waist. Some times the pants hang so low that people are able to see the saggers underwear. The sagging trend is typically worn by people in the hip-hop culture and suburban skateboarders and punk rockers.

The proposed Atlanta, Georgia ordinance includes fines or community service; the proposed Trenton, New Jersey ordinance includes fines and counseling with city social workers, and the proposed Delcambre, Louisiana proposition says that if a person is sagging low enough to show boxers or bare buttocks, the violator will be subject to six months in jail and a $500 fine.

Supporters of the bill argue that the sagging trend is sloppy and it is a bad influence on children because it encourages them to expose themselves. They allege that the trend was started by prisoners who weren’t given belts with their baggy uniform pants.

As a former sagger, I think these city council members should be utilizing their time for more constructive bills. Instead of putting our youths in jail or fining them, they should be passing bills that allowing for more funding in under privilege areas for youth centers that provide children with an alternative to hanging out on the streets; youth centers that have tutors, career counselors, and mentors. For me, the only reason I sagged was because it was in style, i.e. all my favorite rappers and athletes were doing it. I knew when to sag and when not to sag and as I matured, I grew out of sagging.

Lastly, from a legal standpoint, depending on the wording of the ordinance, these bills could be in danger of being too vague to be constitutional. For instance, who determines who is sagging; who determines how much is too much sagging, and what type of process is allowed for disputing these claims.

Above picture of guys sagging taken from CNN.com article titled “Baggy pants crackdown goes national”.