Mississippi County Proposes Law Banning Saggy Pants — Is It Fair? [POLL]
In Hinds County, MS — home of Jackson, the state’s capital — the unemployment rate is a staggering 9.1 percent, and more than a fifth of the county’s residents live below the poverty line.
But according to some local government officials, more people there would be able to get a job if they’d just pull their darned pants up, so they want to enact a law banning saggy pants.
The proposed ban would affect people wearing pants that hang more than three inches below the hip or expose skin or underwear. Penalties would range from a warning to a $10 fine and community service.
County Supervisor Kenneth Stokes said the ban would improve someone’s chances of getting a job, discourage kids from dropping out of high school and prepare them for employment later on.
The ACLU, however, is not convinced, saying the idea is unconstitutional and will “end up targeting black neighborhoods and, for kids who have done nothing other than wear their pants too low, bring them into contact with the police unnecessarily.”
Hinds County Supervisor Phil Fisher is also not a fan, calling the ban “a waste of time for law enforcement” and adding that “parents should raise their own children and not rely on law enforcement to raise them.”
[ABC News]