Florida city repeals 13-year ban on saggy pants

OPA-LOCKA, Florida (AP) — After 13 years, a South Florida city has overturned a ban on saggy pants — bottoms that reveal the wearer's underwear.

The Opa-locka City Commission voted last Wednesday to repeal both the original 2007 legislation and a 2013 ordinance that said women, not just men, could receive civil citations for wearing pants that exposed their undergarments.

The Miami Herald reports that the vote was a first reading of the repeal, meaning it will need to be approved again at a subsequent commission meeting before it's official. But the item was co-sponsored by four of the five commissioners.

Around the city, which is north-east of Miami, signs still warn folks of the ordinance. They show an image of two young men wearing pants below their waists and featuring the words: “No ifs, ands or butts ... It's the city law!”

“I was never in support of it, even as a resident,” Vice-Mayor Chris Davis, who sponsored the repeal, told the Miami Herald. “I felt it disproportionately affected a certain segment of our population, which is young, African American men.”

When the ordinance was first passed, the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida called it a “ridiculous waste of public resources”, saying it would “impose overly harsh penalties for victimless behaviour” and disproportionately affect black youth.