Kick in the Pants

“Some people might not want to see your underwear—

I’m one of them.”

Barack Obama

Small towns have gotten into the fashion police business. It’s not a role they assume happily, but when someone lets his britches drop below his boxers, what’s a town to do?

Residents around the country are up in arms about droopy drawers. This isn’t happening just in the big cities. Indiscrete displays of undies are showing up in small towns, too. In response, two towns—Hampton, Georgia (population 5,355) and Collinsville, Illinois (population 24,707)—this month passed laws banning “saggy pants.” The mayor in Collinsville is not happy. It’s not that he wants to see every Tom, Dick, and Harry’s skivvies, but he says towns should not be in the business of dressing their citizens. A court in Florida agrees. In 2008, it struck down a saggy pants law in that state, finding it unconstitutional. 

Still, because the Florida decision is not binding in other states, laws keep popping up around the country. And although some might find the laws a joke, the penalties are no laughing matter. In Hampton, the fines start at $50 and go up to $200 for repeat offenders, and in Collinsville, the fines start at $100 and top out at $300. But when it comes to penalties, Delcambre, Louisiana (population 2,168) is off the charts: $500 fine or six months in jail.

President Barack Obama has even weighed in on the debate. He thinks the saggy pants laws are a waste of time, but he admonishes young men to “pull up your pants”—not everyone wants to see your underwear, including the president.

Read the articles:
·        Georgia town to fine those with saggy pants
·        Collinsville outlaws saggy pants
·        Baggy pants ban “unconstitutional,” rules US judge
·        Kick in the pants from O