Florida City Lifts Ban on Saggy Pants

Ocala residents are free once more to pull out their baggy pants and let their boxers shorts show in public.

The city council voted 4-1 Tuesday to repeal its newly adopted ordinance, WESH.com reported.

The law, which passed in July, made it illegal for people to wear pants that fell 2 inches or more below the natural waistline on property owned or leased by the city. It carried a penalty of up to 60 days in jail, and those who violated it could also have faced up to $500 in fines.

The NAACP, however, said the law unfairly targeted black men and pushed for its repeal, threatening legal action.

Loretta Pompey Jenkins, president of Marion County’s NAACP branch, said the saggy pants issue is one that is best addressed at home and through church and community groups. She told the Ocala Star Banner the law should have been done away with sooner.

Councilwoman Mary Rich cast the sole nay vote Tuesday and floated the idea of making the law a civil offense instead of a criminal one. Rich, who is black, said she wouldn’t want a law in place that would hurt her own sons, grandsons and great-grandsons, but felt the ban should stand, the Ocala Banner reported.

Rich was not successful in moving to make the penalty a civil infraction, but she’s not giving up either.

“I will try it again sometime later because I have been thinking about it a long time,” Rich told the paper.

In Tampa Bay, the city of New Port Richey’s mayor, Rob Marlowe, has floated the notion of banning saggy pants there. The prospect, however, hasn’t moved forward officially.

What do you think about this? Do saggy pants bans unfairly target black men? Share your thoughts by commenting below!

See Also:

• Baggy Pants Ban Eyed by New Port Richey Officials
• Ocala Cracks Down on Saggy Pants
• Saggy Pants Ban Challenged by NAACP