INTERREBONNE PARISH, Louisiana - Baggy Pants Are Illegal! Council Votes, Pants Lose 8-1

TERREBONNE PARISH, Louisiana - The The Terrebonne Parish Council voted on the issue of prohibiting wearing baggy pants, and the outcome was in favor of the new law 8-1 despite diverse opinions in the community.

The new law states that it is illegal to wear your pants starting below your hip bone. 

Under the new law, there would be several levels of fines and community service for violators:

• $50 for the first offense
• $100 for the second offense

• $100 plus 16 hours of community service for all subsequent offenses.

Jerome Boykin, the council's president, declared, "There is nothing positive about people wearing saggy pants. This is not a black issue, this is not a white issue, this is a people issue... Young men who were in prison who wanted to have sex with other men would send a signal to another man with his pants below his waist."

Others argue that this is a clear violation of Amendment# 14, which states that people are free to wear whatever they want.

Community resident Ida Moore disagreed at the council meeting: "It's certainly not the first time elders complained about the social mores and dress habits of young people. But to make laws of governing social differences is a slippery slope to the level of government that we do not allow."

This isn't the first time U.S. governments have had their hands down citizens' pants.

Since June 11, sagging pants have been against the law in Delcambre, La., a town of 2,231 that is 80 miles southwest of Baton Rouge. The style carries a fine of as much as $500 or up to a six-month sentence.

The style's been banned in Chicago schools, a town in Georgia has collected fines for the offense, and campaigns have been launched against the trend in various other cities.

Despite arguments against it, it's expected that the Parish president will sign the anti-baggy pants ordinance into law.

Baggy pants that show people's butts hanging out can be gross and distracting but should there be laws against it? .