Should L.A. Ban Sagging Pants?

The craze among public officials to ban sagging pants got another boost in October when the city council in the majority black city of Opa-Locka, Florida passed a law outlawing the very public display of curb dragging pants. So far, the national debate over whether sagging pants pose a danger to safety, racially profiles young black males, or are just a harmless, though unsightly generational fashion statement, have bypassed Los Angeles. But that could change if there’s enough racket for some sort of public debate over whether a ban would make a difference in forcing young persons and their parents to abandon a style of dress that’s widely perceived as reinforcing the gang and prison culture. Meanwhile, the debate over sagging pants has torn other big cities. In the past couple of years, city councils in Trenton, New Jersey, Charlotte, North Carolina, Dallas, Atlanta, and Baltimore have fought pitched battles over whether to ban low-slung pants. In almost every case, African-American council persons have screamed the loudest to ban drooping pants.

The sagging pants laws have been the butt (pardon the pun) of jokes, and much ribald fun-poking. But stereotypes and bad social policy are no laughing matter. The city fathers and mothers in Opa-Locka and the other towns that have plopped the law on their books hotly deny that they are deliberately targeting young African-American males or are trying to control their dress or behavior. A sagging pants law, however, does exactly that whether intended or not. If L.A. city officials are tempted to take a look at whether a dress ban makes sense here or not, the issues of control, stereotypes, public morals, and free expression will be laid as bare as the lowest of low slung pants.