The ongoing battle to stop people from wearing saggy pants continues.
WLTX reports that the latest iteration comes from South Carolina lawmakers who are proposing House Bill 4957, a state-wide law that would make it illegal to show your skin or underwear "three inches below the crest of his ileum," which is one of the lowest points of the small intestine. If violated, people wearing sagging pants would not have have to face criminal or delinquent charges. Instead, they would be fined $25 for the first offense, $50 or three hours of community service for the second offense and $75 or six hours of community service for three or more offenses.
"It's unbecoming, it's unprofessional," said Democratic Representative Joe Jefferson, who's one of the bill's sponsors, to WLTX. "Now there's some misunderstanding. I understand that some people are assuming that if one is caught, then they won't be allowed to go to college, grants, loans, all these other opportunities will be taken away. That's not the case at all. This is just to prevent these fellas and giving them at least an obligation to realize that they're walking around and they're convincing others to follow them. That's not what it's all about."
The sagging pants laws are often criticized for targeting people of color but Jefferson claims that this isn't the case for them. "It's no more than a warning to allow these fellas to be more responsible," he said. "It is not just targeting African-American men. I see men of all races walking around with this same problem. It is just disingenuous, we should not have this. There ought to be a better way."
Since 2007, at least nine laws have been passed to deter people from showing their underwear in public. In Timmonsville, South Carolina, third-time offenders could pay up to $600 for sagging their pants while in Ocala, Florida, the sentence is stricter with a $500 fine or six months in jail if found sagging on city-owned property.
As for South Carolina, their Senator Henry McMaster will have the final say on whether it gets approved.
Read the proposed bill in its entirety here.
