colleyvillesooner
8/24/2006, 09:40 AM
Cotton Bowl?? Red River Shootout??? Psshh. We got pants to fix people! ;)
Council takes look at saggy pants ban
Some support it, want enforcement data; 2 oppose police role
08:47 PM CDT on Wednesday, August 23, 2006
By TAWNELL D. HOBBS / The Dallas Morning News
A proposal to ban saggy pants in Dallas gained steam Wednesday as City Council members discussed how to deal with the popular clothing trend.
Several council members voiced support and asked the city attorney's office to research whether such a rule is enforceable.
Dallas school trustee Ron Price recommended the ban at Wednesday's council meeting, following through on a plan he announced Tuesday. Mr. Price wants the city to create an ordinance to allow police to cite people who wear their pants too low.
"Too low," he said, allows too much underwear to show.
Most of the nine council members who addressed Mr. Price at the meeting said the idea merits discussion. Some said an ordinance was needed, while others felt a public campaign involving the city, schools, parents and the community would be the way to go. Some of the 14 council members said nothing.
Two who spoke – Angela Hunt and Gary Griffith – opposed using police to enforce a ban.
"I'm not going to be in favor of using police officers to track people whose pants are low," Mr. Griffith said.
Mr. Price, dressed in a suit, his usual attire at public meetings, said the effort is aimed not only at children, but also grown men who walk around with their underwear exposed.
"We have a problem in our city," Mr. Price said. He ran a slogan by the council that he's given to the initiative: "Pull it up, or pay up."
Dallas Mayor Pro Tem Don Hill said retailers who market to young people are taking advantage of the fad.
"This just isn't the appropriate way to dress in public," Mr. Hill said. "It's an issue that needs to be addressed, discussed."
Council member Bill Blaydes said some people simply allow too much sag.
"It's ... very fast approaching lewdness, and there are laws against it," Mr. Blaydes said. "To ignore it any further, I think, is going to be a problem throughout this city."
But not all council members agreed.
"I agree with Ron Price that it's disconcerting," Ed Oakley said after the meeting. "But how do you legislate that? How do you have a dress code on a public street? I don't know if you can without crossing the line on freedom of expression."
Schools, Mr. Oakley added, are another issue, as they're capable of regulating dress. The Dallas school district already prohibits pants that droop below the waistline.
Council member Maxine Thornton Reese, who supports the ban, said that if the city can't create an enforceable policy, it should form a partnership with parents, schools and the community to educate people on why saggy pants are bad.
Mr. Griffith agreed that community groups could help get the word out. For example, he said, restaurants could add to their list of rules "that if you have baggy pants, you don't get served."
Council member Mitchell Rasansky would like to see the saggy issue addressed in large shopping malls. He said he and his wife stopped walking at a local mall because they disliked seeing so many saggy pants.
"It's absolutely disgusting," Mr. Rasansky said, adding that switching to another mall didn't solve the problem. They're seeing too many droopy pants there, too.
Kimi King, associate professor of political science at the University of North Texas, said Dallas would have greater justification for creating such an ordinance if it could tie it to a problem of public lewdness or criminal activity.
Dr. King, an expert on civil rights legislation, said the city would have to show that it's not targeting only young males, the group most likely to wear sagging pants. And if challenged on whether such a measure would prevent public lewdness, she said, the city would have to explain why other clothing items weren't also prohibited.
"A judge would say, 'Why not enforce halter tops or shorts that are too short?' " she said. "You're picking on one group and singling them out."
Council member Steve Salazar said the council will have to wait for the city attorney's office to research the issue to determine how to proceed. He said it's a good issue for discussion but cautioned against moving too quickly on any type of ordinance for legal reasons.
"What's offensive to some may be acceptable to others," Mr. Salazar said.
Council takes look at saggy pants ban
Some support it, want enforcement data; 2 oppose police role
08:47 PM CDT on Wednesday, August 23, 2006
By TAWNELL D. HOBBS / The Dallas Morning News
A proposal to ban saggy pants in Dallas gained steam Wednesday as City Council members discussed how to deal with the popular clothing trend.
Several council members voiced support and asked the city attorney's office to research whether such a rule is enforceable.
Dallas school trustee Ron Price recommended the ban at Wednesday's council meeting, following through on a plan he announced Tuesday. Mr. Price wants the city to create an ordinance to allow police to cite people who wear their pants too low.
"Too low," he said, allows too much underwear to show.
Most of the nine council members who addressed Mr. Price at the meeting said the idea merits discussion. Some said an ordinance was needed, while others felt a public campaign involving the city, schools, parents and the community would be the way to go. Some of the 14 council members said nothing.
Two who spoke – Angela Hunt and Gary Griffith – opposed using police to enforce a ban.
"I'm not going to be in favor of using police officers to track people whose pants are low," Mr. Griffith said.
Mr. Price, dressed in a suit, his usual attire at public meetings, said the effort is aimed not only at children, but also grown men who walk around with their underwear exposed.
"We have a problem in our city," Mr. Price said. He ran a slogan by the council that he's given to the initiative: "Pull it up, or pay up."
Dallas Mayor Pro Tem Don Hill said retailers who market to young people are taking advantage of the fad.
"This just isn't the appropriate way to dress in public," Mr. Hill said. "It's an issue that needs to be addressed, discussed."
Council member Bill Blaydes said some people simply allow too much sag.
"It's ... very fast approaching lewdness, and there are laws against it," Mr. Blaydes said. "To ignore it any further, I think, is going to be a problem throughout this city."
But not all council members agreed.
"I agree with Ron Price that it's disconcerting," Ed Oakley said after the meeting. "But how do you legislate that? How do you have a dress code on a public street? I don't know if you can without crossing the line on freedom of expression."
Schools, Mr. Oakley added, are another issue, as they're capable of regulating dress. The Dallas school district already prohibits pants that droop below the waistline.
Council member Maxine Thornton Reese, who supports the ban, said that if the city can't create an enforceable policy, it should form a partnership with parents, schools and the community to educate people on why saggy pants are bad.
Mr. Griffith agreed that community groups could help get the word out. For example, he said, restaurants could add to their list of rules "that if you have baggy pants, you don't get served."
Council member Mitchell Rasansky would like to see the saggy issue addressed in large shopping malls. He said he and his wife stopped walking at a local mall because they disliked seeing so many saggy pants.
"It's absolutely disgusting," Mr. Rasansky said, adding that switching to another mall didn't solve the problem. They're seeing too many droopy pants there, too.
Kimi King, associate professor of political science at the University of North Texas, said Dallas would have greater justification for creating such an ordinance if it could tie it to a problem of public lewdness or criminal activity.
Dr. King, an expert on civil rights legislation, said the city would have to show that it's not targeting only young males, the group most likely to wear sagging pants. And if challenged on whether such a measure would prevent public lewdness, she said, the city would have to explain why other clothing items weren't also prohibited.
"A judge would say, 'Why not enforce halter tops or shorts that are too short?' " she said. "You're picking on one group and singling them out."
Council member Steve Salazar said the council will have to wait for the city attorney's office to research the issue to determine how to proceed. He said it's a good issue for discussion but cautioned against moving too quickly on any type of ordinance for legal reasons.
"What's offensive to some may be acceptable to others," Mr. Salazar said.