Sagging Pants Has a Price

Ever since rappers started sagging their pants as a fashion statement, it has been one of the most consistent styles among black youth and one of the most antagonized by older generations.

Recently, proposals to ban baggy pants have been brought up in several cities, from Trenton, N.J. to Louisiana. And legislation exists in some towns that could mean fines or even jail time if you bust a sag.

Laws are still pending in Dallas and Atlanta, but laws have already been passed in several other Georgia and Louisiana cities. Some places, including Virgina, have tried to pass laws banning saggy pants and been ridiculed and laughed at.

In the small Louisiana town of Delcambre, a glimpse of boxers or the bare buttocks can lead to a $500 fine and six months in jail. According to the AP, in Atlanta, a law has been introduced to ban sagging and punishment could include small fines or community work -- but no jail time.

Is this America? And what about freedom of speech? Instead targeting people for wearing cloths that they associate with a delinquent activity, maybe these activists and politicians should focus on the actual issues that are much bigger than baggy pants.

The NAACP's stance is simple, these laws are lame and offensive.

"I think to criminalize how a person wears their clothing is more offensive than what the remedy is trying to do," said former NAACP director Dr. Benjamin Chavis.

The American Civil Liberties Union clearly sees this as a case of racial profiling.

"It's going to target African-American male youths. There's a fear with people associating the way you dress with crimes being committed," Benetta Standly, statewide organizer for the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia, told the AP.

So what are the arguments in support of this? Some school teachers say it's a fashion distraction, others say it's sloppy and letting our kids dress like this has consequences.