OSCEOLA -- Will Osceola become a trendsetter and pass an ordinance outlawing "sagging pants?"
The Osceola City Council passed an ordinance on its first reading Monday night doing just that.
Somewhat of a pet project of Alderman Ottis Raper, he made the motion which was seconded by Jeanette Walker. Also voting yes on the issue were council members Linda Watson and Gene Cox.
Aldermen Joe Guy and Luther Whitfield abstained from voting. The proposed ordinance will make it illegal for anyone inside the city limits of Osceola to wear sagging pants, showing their underwear in public.
City Attorney Donald Betterton advised against the passage of the ordinance, stating there is no state in the country with a no sagging law. He explained municipalities can not pass laws which are more strenuous than state laws.
"There are constitutional issues here ... freedom of speech and freedom of ex- pression," Betterton explained. "Dictating fashion is not a government job."
Betterton went on to state America does not operate with a dictatorial government and he believes this ordinance would encroach on the rights set forth by the Founding Fathers in the U.S. Constitution.
Raper, on the other hand, has previously argued that the issue is a matter of de- cency and respect. He reminded those present that sagging pants began as a practice in prison and should not be encouraged among today's young people.
According to TV Judge Greg Mathis, sagging was adopted from the United States prison system where belts are prohibited. Belts are sometimes prohibited to keep prisoners from using them as weapons or in committing suicide by hanging themselves. He also said sagging has sexual connotations in prison. Mathis also explained the style was later popularized by hip-hop artists in the 1990s.
"It has since become a symbol of freedom and cultural awareness among many youths or a symbol of their rejection of the values of mainstream society," Mathis said.