City of Atlanta considers banning underwear in public
Categories: Teens & tweens, Kid decor & style
Atlanta city councilman C. T. Martin sounds like a pretty buttoned-up guy. He doesn't like to see underwear in public and is concerned about young people thinking that is the way to dress. Surely you have seen what he's talking about - the ridiculously baggy pants that guys wear way down low with their boxer shorts sticking out at the top. Or the low-rise jeans that not only give girls with perfectly nice bodies unsightly muffin-tops, but also reveal their thong underwear. To rid his city of this "major concern", he has proposed an amendment to the indecency laws that would ban those types of clothing. But he doesn't stop there - the proposed new rules would also ban jogging bras and bra straps in public.
I don't enjoy looking at stranger's underwear either, but this proposal is never going to fly. Civil liberties and all that. But Debbie Seagraves, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia, takes that a step further and says the ban can't be enforced in a non-discriminatory way because it targets something that came from the black youth culture. "This is a racial profiling bill that promotes and establishes a framework for an additional type of racial profiling," she said.
White, who is black, says he just wants to get the conversation started and see if a solution to the 'underwear in public' problem can be found. The proposed ordinance would be placed in the same portion of the city's code that makes having sex or fondling your genitals in public illegal. Should it pass, those found guilty of violating the code would be fined an as-yet undetermined amount.
I don't enjoy looking at stranger's underwear either, but this proposal is never going to fly. Civil liberties and all that. But Debbie Seagraves, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia, takes that a step further and says the ban can't be enforced in a non-discriminatory way because it targets something that came from the black youth culture. "This is a racial profiling bill that promotes and establishes a framework for an additional type of racial profiling," she said.
White, who is black, says he just wants to get the conversation started and see if a solution to the 'underwear in public' problem can be found. The proposed ordinance would be placed in the same portion of the city's code that makes having sex or fondling your genitals in public illegal. Should it pass, those found guilty of violating the code would be fined an as-yet undetermined amount.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Meg 8-23-2007 @ 6:07PM
Can't we first pass a law banning butt-cracks? I'd be HAPPY if all I was seeing from low-rise jean wearers was their thong underwear. Instead, I must see at least 3 butt-cracks a day on average. At first, it was kind of funny (tee hee, butt-crack alert!). Now it's getting kind of old.
Low-rise jean wearers -- if you think your butt is not constantly falling out the back of your pants, I'm here to inform you that YOU ARE WRONG ABOUT THAT. Higher jeans or longer shirts, people -- I'm begging you!
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S. Kelly 8-23-2007 @ 6:56PM
LOL Meg!
I agree!!! ROFLMBO...
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Ethel 8-23-2007 @ 7:07PM
Okay, does this amendment interfere with breast feeding in public or are boobies okay, just not bras?
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Michelle 8-23-2007 @ 8:11PM
I live in Atlanta and would totally support this law. Not only are the pants hanging down below the behind and exposing underwear an eye-sore, but they are a safety hazard, as well. These young men have to keep one hand on their crotch holding their pants up and the pant legs are so long and baggy they just are not safe. Also, the style may have originated in the black community, but, unfortunately, it has caught on and defies racial boundaries.
As far as the low rider jeans and thongs go, I wish the fashion industry would put that fad on the shelf. These kids are going to look back at pictures of themselves and ask "what the hell was I thinking?"
I hadn't heard about the bra strap, I think I would be guilty of that one, since I can never seem to keep my straps on my shoulders.
I don't know how feasible enforcemnet of this law would be. How about just a free pass to pants( yank their pants down) anyone guilty of this heinous act?
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Eva 8-23-2007 @ 9:22PM
I live in Atlanta and think this is dumb. Atlanta has far more serious issues to worry about. Plus, this is unenforceable, and has other implications that might be problematic (e.g. breastfeeding mothers).
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SKL 8-23-2007 @ 11:18PM
OK, so any idea that allegedly originates with the black culture can't be outlawed because that would be racist? Talk about a slippery slope. That is moronic.
Furthermore, I am pretty sure most of my black friends do NOT want their population to be known as "those people who always have their pants falling down past their underwear."
I would like to know why they didn't nip this problem in the bud using the public indecency laws that already exist. I am pretty sure if I walked down the street in my underwear, the cops would stop me sooner or later. The neighbors shouldn't have to see that.
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Marcia 8-24-2007 @ 6:53AM
I'm from Connellsville, PA and we already have a law such as this.
http://www.ahajokes.com/laws038.html
I know it's in jokes, but it's for real. That's just the only place I could find it posted online. We did have some serious issues with this back home and the police did enforce this law once it was done. It doesn't eliminate the underwear showing at the top of the pants, but it eliminates those annoying pants-at-the-knees people. My hometown is much smaller than Atlanta, but the same approach could be taken.
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Billie 8-24-2007 @ 8:50AM
The biggest problems that I see:
1. Jogging bras? Are they also banning swimsuits in public?
2. As mentioned, breastfeeding. I know that if I was wearing a bra while breastfeeding in public, you saw it.
3. Accidental exposures. I don't wear a bra/shirt combination that leaves my straps hanging out, but sometimes they slip and you can see them. My husband, were this to pass and he were to move to Atlanta, would go broke. Even if it were a $5 fine. I have tried everything I can think of, and his pants won't stay up. You can usually see a little of his underwear (normally just the elastic band), and all too often he's got the plunber's crack to go with it. Unavoidables like these should NOT end up being rolled into people wearing their waistbands below their butts.
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Carrie 8-24-2007 @ 9:46AM
I live in Atlanta too, and I'm all for it as long as it doesn't get ridiculous (like a bra strap? That's not intentional).
Honestly I don't "get" the whole low pants thing. For one, it began as a way for young black men to show solidarity with their brothers in prison.
Hello?
Low rider pants in jail mean the wearer is looking for a boyfriend. Why young men want to emulate that is beyond me. It's disgusting, not culturally insensitive.
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Jessica 8-24-2007 @ 9:55AM
I do not support the government making decisions about my clothing for me. No way. That is an amout of power for them to have. Geez.
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Joy 8-24-2007 @ 10:12AM
LOL Meg. So funny. I hardly think feeding a baby and wearing your pants to low have anything to do with one another Ethel. You gave me the laugh of the day tho Meg.
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Mobmentality 8-24-2007 @ 1:43PM
Adding attire choice to indecency laws is just begging for abuse. What people wear and how they wear it is very deeply rooted in the freedom of expression. I totally understand that people find such clothing choices as tacky, but there is a perfectly reasonable non-legal non-political way to respond to such behavior. Stop associating with people that you don't approve. Legal pressure is not the answer to all of societies ills. The more laws we create to define our existence the closer we come to a police state.
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Linda Winn-Lyon 8-27-2007 @ 10:03AM
I hope Atlanta and all other municipalities and states also pass this bill and enforce it. I am very tired of seeing the "youth" showing their choice in underware. I have had several good laughs when these "youth" have either totally lost their pants or have fallen or almost fallen because of this stupid fashion. My youngest son tired it and when I walked up behind him, I pulled everything down. End of problem so to speak. No pun intended.
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Danny 8-30-2007 @ 10:03AM
Hey Carrie. Thanks for taking this completely unrelated topic as an opportunity to air your homophobic bull crap. That's what's disgusting.
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starrchild_02 10-09-2007 @ 9:02AM
What is the big deal? Bikini wearers show more skin. Are they going to fine the plumber when his butt crack is exposed?
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