As much as I might be in favor of such a ban, I'm doubtful it would pass constitutional muster. Maybe for minors:
The Common Council is likely to vote in January on an ordinance that would restrict a person's ability to wear their pants in a manner that sags below their underpants in public.
The council's Youth Council passed a recommendation to the adult council that says people under 18 should be prohibited from wearing their pants in such a manner in public, and that the matter should be treated similar to not wearing a shirt or shoes while in a public place.
But while the Youth Council's measure would merely apply to teenagers, council Vice President Ronald Brewer said he believes it should be extended to adults as well, and he intends to have it do so when the recommendation is sent to the city's Law Department to be crafted into an ordinance that the Common Council would vote on eventually.
"The No. 1 change I would want to make is to have it apply to all," Brewer said. "This should be something that applies across the board."
Brewer said the timeline depends largely on how quickly the Law Department can create the ordinance, but he said it is possible that final action could be taken by the council sometime during January or early February.
Youth Council President Dai'one Fields said their recommendation did not contemplate including adult offenders. "That is something for the Common Council to decide, not us," he said.
As envisioned by the Youth Council, young people could be cited by police or school officials for letting their pants sag below the waistline. That would be one of several offenses that could be referred by school or police officials to the new Teen Court that will begin to exist in Gary next month.
Such a court would deal only with teenage offenders committing minor offenses and is intended to keep such cases from clogging the county courts or having young people develop criminal records.
Penalties in Teen Court, for which all teenage sagging pants cases would be sent, would likely be varying amounts of community service.
Brewer said for adults, he would envision fines, although he said that aspect has yet to be negotiated by public officials.
The sagging pants issue has been a subject of debate for the past three months in Gary, with some activists complaining the issue violates a person's right to public expression and the American Civil Liberties Union hinting it would consider supporting a lawsuit challenging any such ordinance Gary might approve.
But on Tuesday, no one showed up at City Hall to express their opposition. And Youth Council member Melody Velez said Thursday she was pleased with changes made in recent weeks to specify the saggy pants ban would only be in public places.
While Brewer said there likely will be more changes made to the proposal between now and when a final vote is taken, as even Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson has said there may be legitimacy to some of the constitutional questions that have arisen.
"We will take this to the council and it will go to committee," Brewer said. "There may be things added on and others taken away before we're finished" with the issue.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/subur...-gary-saggy-pants-st-1221-20151218-story.html
The Common Council is likely to vote in January on an ordinance that would restrict a person's ability to wear their pants in a manner that sags below their underpants in public.
The council's Youth Council passed a recommendation to the adult council that says people under 18 should be prohibited from wearing their pants in such a manner in public, and that the matter should be treated similar to not wearing a shirt or shoes while in a public place.
But while the Youth Council's measure would merely apply to teenagers, council Vice President Ronald Brewer said he believes it should be extended to adults as well, and he intends to have it do so when the recommendation is sent to the city's Law Department to be crafted into an ordinance that the Common Council would vote on eventually.
"The No. 1 change I would want to make is to have it apply to all," Brewer said. "This should be something that applies across the board."
Brewer said the timeline depends largely on how quickly the Law Department can create the ordinance, but he said it is possible that final action could be taken by the council sometime during January or early February.
Youth Council President Dai'one Fields said their recommendation did not contemplate including adult offenders. "That is something for the Common Council to decide, not us," he said.
As envisioned by the Youth Council, young people could be cited by police or school officials for letting their pants sag below the waistline. That would be one of several offenses that could be referred by school or police officials to the new Teen Court that will begin to exist in Gary next month.
Such a court would deal only with teenage offenders committing minor offenses and is intended to keep such cases from clogging the county courts or having young people develop criminal records.
Penalties in Teen Court, for which all teenage sagging pants cases would be sent, would likely be varying amounts of community service.
Brewer said for adults, he would envision fines, although he said that aspect has yet to be negotiated by public officials.
The sagging pants issue has been a subject of debate for the past three months in Gary, with some activists complaining the issue violates a person's right to public expression and the American Civil Liberties Union hinting it would consider supporting a lawsuit challenging any such ordinance Gary might approve.
But on Tuesday, no one showed up at City Hall to express their opposition. And Youth Council member Melody Velez said Thursday she was pleased with changes made in recent weeks to specify the saggy pants ban would only be in public places.
While Brewer said there likely will be more changes made to the proposal between now and when a final vote is taken, as even Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson has said there may be legitimacy to some of the constitutional questions that have arisen.
"We will take this to the council and it will go to committee," Brewer said. "There may be things added on and others taken away before we're finished" with the issue.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/subur...-gary-saggy-pants-st-1221-20151218-story.html
