Sagging No More?

Celebrities sag. Hipsters sag. Hoodfolk sag.... But this urban trend is not celebrated everywhere.
At least not in Chicago... One community group is pushing for a saggy pants ban.

They would like to amend the city's indecent exposure law to make the wearing of saggy pants illegal.

Clothing is a method of free expression, style, and character. Who are these "Empowered Citizens of North Lawndale (ECONL)" to say that sagging is bad?

Pants sagging has been a part of urban culture for two decades.... But they want government officials to outlaw the wearing of pants that hang more than four inches down from your hip. Violating the law, they say, should carry a fine of up to $200.

But they are not the only opponents of the urban trend... In his address to the 'saggy pants' and uneducated boys on the corner, comedian Bill Cosby said, 'We, as black folks, have to do a better job,' he stated. We have to start holding each other to a higher standard."

Communities have tried for years to criminalize the fashion expression. In 2004, Louisiana and Virginia both attempted to pass statewide baggy pants laws. But these bills rarely pass the constitutional sniff test.

In 2008, a Florida judge ruled that a Riviera Beach, Fla., city ban on saggy pants, the violation of which resulted in one 17-year-old being jailed for a night, was unconstitutional.


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