Atlanta bans low pants and other things as "indecent".

[dmg1969]

Now they're going to tell you how to DRESS!!!! Damnit, this had better not go nationwide! I enjoy the thongs here in my office.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070823/..._sagging_pants

ATLANTA - Baggy pants that show boxer shorts or thongs would be illegal under a proposed amendment to Atlanta's indecency laws.

The amendment, sponsored by city councilman C.T. Martin, states that sagging pants are an "epidemic" that is becoming a "major concern" around the country.

"Little children see it and want to adopt it, thinking it's the in thing," Martin said Wednesday. "I don't want young people thinking that half-dressing is the way to go. I want them to think about their future."

The proposed ordinance would also bar women from showing the strap of a thong beneath their pants. They would also be prohibited from wearing jogging bras in public or show a bra strap, said Debbie Seagraves, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia.

The proposed ordinance states that "the indecent exposure of his or her undergarments" would be unlawful in a public place. It would go in the same portion of the city code that outlaws sex in public and the exposure or fondling of genitals.

The penalty would be a fine in an amount to be determined, Martin said.

But Seagraves said any legislation that creates a dress code would not survive a court challenge. She said the law could not be enforced in a nondiscriminatory way because it targets something that came out of the black youth culture.

"This is a racial profiling bill that promotes and establishes a framework for an additional type of racial profiling," Seagraves said.

Martin, who is black, said he plans to hold public hearings and vet the proposal through churches, civil rights groups and neighborhood organizations. The proposal will get its first public airing next Tuesday in the City Council's Public Safety Committee.

"The purpose of the paper is to generate some conversation to see if we can find a solution," Martin said. "It will be like all the discussions we've had around the value of the hip-hop culture. We know there are First Amendment issues ... and some will say I'm just trying to put young black men in jail, but it's going to be fines."

Makeda Johnson, an Atlanta mother of a 14-year-old girl, said she is glad Martin introduced the proposal. She does not want to see a law against clothing, but said she thinks teenagers are sending a message with a way of dressing that is based in jailhouse behavior.

Atlanta would not be the first city to take on sagging pants.

Earlier this year, the town council in Delcambre, La., passed an ordinance that carries a fine of up to $500 or six months in jail for exposing underwear in public. Several other municipalities and parish governments in Louisiana have enacted similar laws in recent months.

___

[LorDiego01]

$500 or six months in jail for exposing underwear in public.

would wearing a bikini constitute underwear?

Whats defined as underwear? If I wear my boxers outside my pants, therefore, making them outside wear, would that be ok?

Does this apply to manequins at stores?

What if a child does this?

And more importantly,

WTF IS WRONG WITH THESE LAWMAKERS???

[phillyd2]

would wearing a bikini constitute underwear?

Whats defined as underwear? If I wear my boxers outside my pants, therefore, making them outside wear, would that be ok?

Does this apply to manequins at stores?

What if a child does this?

And more importantly,

WTF IS WRONG WITH THESE LAWMAKERS???

Wrong questions my friend. Should be: WTF is wrong with the people to allow shit like this?

[brewguy]

this stuff blows my minds. It is just like gun control. They have a crime problem. They think kids see thugs and want to be gangsters. So if you ban people from looking like thugs then the gangs will go away.

At what point will we finally give up on calling us the land of the free?

[knight0334]

When is this law coming to Pittsburgh?? lol I about tripped over some kid's pantlegs at the mall in Robinson a couple X-Mas's ago.

[Agent Smith]

I'll bet that we will see a rise in crime from this because now all the officers are going to be making sure people obey the dress code, rather than fighting real crime.

[Emptymag]

I'm hoping they will consider adding a provision prohibiting ball caps from being worn "to the side" too.

Edited to remove rant and place it in the "things I'm Sick of" thread.

[brewguy]

I'm hoping they will consider adding a provision prohibiting ball caps from being worn "to the side" too.

Edited to remove rant and place it in the "things I'm Sick of" thread.

I surely hope everyone here is Joking with these comments. This is the same attitude the gun grabbers have. The folks who say I can't buy beer at the grocery store and everyone else that comes up with stupid laws that prevent free will. "hey you put your seat belt on!"

We should not be supporting the government control on any level. If people choose to dress like that then let them. When they can't get a job and end up broke then they can starve, it was their choice.

[NineseveN]

This is just friggen ridiculous...leave the people the hell alone and let them wear whatever they want!

[Emptymag]

I surely hope everyone here is Joking with these comments...

He don't know me very well, DO he?

LOL! Yes. I'm joking.
I think the thing that's even MORE revolting to me is that someone twisted yet another issue into a RACIAL issue. It never ends.