{Atlanta} planning ban on low-slung baggy pants

Posted over 2 years ago

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Madness

Your Tax Dollars At Work (if you happen to live within the city limits of Atlanta, anyway...)

*US city planning ban on low-slung baggy pants*
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Baggy trousers that hang way below the belt and expose what the wearer has on underneath could soon be banned in the southern US city of Atlanta, a city council spokesman said Friday.
"Many youngsters are walking around with their pants way, way below their waists, and you can see everything. Some people call it a fad or a fashion statement but it is simple indecency," Dexter Chambers, the communications director at Atlanta City Council, told AFP by phone.
The ordinance, of which AFP obtained a copy, states that "the dress fad of wearing low hanging/saggy pants which exposes ones underwear is becoming a major concern for communities, cities and states around the country."
It proposes adding a clause to the code on public morals - which already bars real or simulated sexual intercourse, indecent exposure, or the touching, caressing or fondling of genitals or women's breasts in public - to make "the indecent exposure of undergarments" unlawful.
Press reports have said that the proposed changes would make it illegal for women to run wearing just a sports bra, or to expose their bra straps.
"The ordinance doesn't mention anything about bras. The American Civil Liberties Union brought that up," Chambers said.
The trend of wearing oversized trousers that fall down and expose one's smalls derives from the US prison system.
"It started in prison, where, as I understand it, belts are taken away from inmates. But it evolved into a situation where it was used by prisoners to let others know they were 'available,' and it still has that sexual connotation," Chambers said.
Very low-slung trousers are already banned in the southern US city of Delcambre, in Louisiana, where offenders' cheek can earn them a fine of 500 dollars (350 euros) or up to six months in jail.
But Atlanta would not be so harsh, Chambers said.
"There would only be a small fine, no jail time at all. Councilman Martin would rather send young men and women to college than jail."

We've got a municipal hospital that's $300 million in the red.
We've got a drought, and water restrictions.
We've got a (former) quarterback who raises doggies for fun and profit.
And the City Council is passing laws against letting your underwear show.
I never heard before that the style derives from kinky prison games. Actually, i sort of suspect that's an urban legend.

God made an idiot for practice, and then he made a school board - Mark Twain

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Lester Jonze says Similarly.. Company pulls MLB caps linked to gangs NEW YORK - A lineup of team logo baseball caps denounced as tailor-made for gang members was ordered removed from store shelves by its manufacturer Friday after complaints from baseball officials. “It has been brought to our attention that some combinations of icons and colors on a select number of our caps could be too closely perceived to be in association with gangs,” said Christopher H. Koch, CEO of New Era Cap. “In response, we, along with Major League Baseball, have pulled those caps.” The three styles in question used colors and symbols linked to three gangs: an all-white cap with a blue bandanna, the trademark of the notorious Crips; an all-white cap with a red bandanna worn by the rival Bloods; and a black cap with a gold team logo and an embroidered crown, a symbol favored by the Latin Kings. “We encouraged and now fully support the decision of cap manufacturer New Era to pull these caps and any others that feature offensive or concerning symbols,” read an MLB statement. The New York Yankees had joined an anti-gang group, Peace on the Street, in denouncing the hats. Both MLB and the Yankees insisted they were unaware of the symbolism in the cap designs, with the New York team noting they were never given a chance to review the new hats until they were already for sale. The team was “completely unaware that caps with gang-related logos and colors had been manufactured with the New York Yankees logo on them,” said a Yankees statement. “The New York Yankees oppose any garment that may be associated with gangs or gang-related activity.” On Thursday, protesters demonstrated about the new caps outside several Manhattan stores carrying the merchandise. The stores were selling a version of the hats bearing the familiar interlocking “NY” logo of the Yankees. Richard Garcia, a karate instructor who works with Peace on the Street to provide youngsters with alternatives to gangs, said he immediately recognized the hats’ colors from his work with former gang members. “My fear was that the wrong kid was going to wear the wrong hat in the wrong neighborhood and get hurt,” he said. New Era said it would increase its efforts to ensure it had a better working knowledge of gang symbols, names and locations. The Buffalo-based company has produced hats for Major League Baseball since the 1930s.

Permalink posted 08/25/2007
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Mike the Knife says A ban on low-slung baggy pants? Think of all the unwitting clowns that'll be arrested...

Permalink posted 08/25/2007
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chucky says Didn't some town try to do this a few years ago and was mocked so relentlessly that they changed their minds? Baggy pants would be a dead fashion now if people would stop being acting so damn scandalized by it.

Permalink posted 08/27/2007