The ban on “baggy pants” that exposes someone’s underwear is set to be lifted in a South Florida city – 13 years after it was put into place.
The city committee in Opa Luka, northeast Miami, voted four to one to repeal both the original 2007 legislation and the 2013 decree that stated that men and women could receive civil citations if they violated the ban.
All over the city there are signs in place to warn people not to run into their clothes.
One of them shows a picture of two young men in trousers under their waists with the words: “No, no, no butts … it’s the law of the city!”
Wednesday’s vote was the first reading of the cancellation, which means it will need to agree again at a subsequent committee meeting before it becomes official, the Miami Herald reported.
However, four of the five Commissioners co-sponsored this item.
“I’ve never been in favor of it, even as a resident,” Vice Mayor Chris Davis, who sponsored the cancellation, told the Miami Herald.
“I felt it disproportionately affected a particular segment of our population, which is young African Americans.”
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) described the ban as a “ridiculous waste of public resources,” saying it would impose “extremely harsh penalties for non-victim behavior” and would disproportionately affect young blacks.
