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Senate May Crack Down On Droopy Pants

Tribune photo by Cloe Cabrera

Students Howard Lawson, left, and Jacob Marion disagree with a proposed bill that would ban sagging pants in school.

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By RUSSELL RAY and CLOE CABRERA, The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 13, 2008

TALLAHASSEE - Sen. Charlie Justice and other lawmakers couldn't help but poke fun at the bill that bans droopy pants.

Justice, D-St. Petersburg, urged lawmakers Wednesday to do their homework before considering Senate Bill 302, which would bar public school students from wearing saggy pants.

"None of us want to see a senator caught with his pants down on the floor," Justice quipped.

Sen. Dave Aronberg, R-Green- acres, offered an amendment that would exclude students studying refrigerator repair or plumbing from punishment under the bill.

"I will be brief," Aronberg said. "This only opens the door just a little crack."

The amendment was quickly withdrawn.

Joking aside, the bill drew serious support and criticism from Senate lawmakers. The Senate discussed the bill for more than a half-hour.

The legislation's author, Sen. Gary Siplin, D-Orlando, said the saggy-pants look is a fad among youths that hurts their chances of getting a job.

"We want to be able to teach our kids how to dress appropriately," Siplin said. "We want to train our kids how they should be as an adult."

But Sen. Al Lawson, D-Tallahassee, said the droopy pants bill would punish students whose parents are poor and can't afford clothes that fit.

"Those kids just go to school with no intention to let their pants hang," Lawson said. "There's a difference between those who plan to do it and those who really can't help it."

Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, said getting teenagers to pull their pants up "is up to the parent and not the Legislature."

The bill would mean students could not expose "below-waist" underwear at school or a school activity in a way that exposes a student's "covered or uncovered sexual organs in a vulgar and indecent manner."

Legislators weren't the only ones opposed to the bill.

Howard Lawson, a 17-year-old freshman at Middleton High School in Tampa, said the bill wouldn't stop him from wearing saggy pants.

"Politicians don't buy my clothes," said Lawson as he was walking home from school Wednesday. "Unless they spend money on my clothes, they shouldn't be telling me what to wear."

Lawson, who was sporting saggy jeans and no shirt, said he wears saggy pants over "baller" (basketball) shorts.

"I do wear them low, but I usually have on a T-shirt long enough to cover my shorts," he said. "That's how I sport it. I'll keep dressin' how I dress."

Hillsborough County schools' dress code already includes a ban on clothing exposing the torso or midriff - front, back or sides - and requires all pants and shorts be secured at the waist.

Tony Timmons, 24, has worn saggy jeans since he was 16. He calls the style "smoldering" hot.

"It's sad people judge you and stereotype you by what you wear," said Timmons, a prep worker at the Columbia Restaurant who was wearing saggy pants while riding his bicycle home on 22nd Street Wednesday afternoon. "People think you're a drug dealer or you're doing something illegal because your pants are low. That's wrong. What about people who wear really tight, tight pants? That should be against the law, too."

Jose Paneto, 14, disagrees with a ban on saggy pants but said he will abide by it if it passes. Paneto, whose T-shirt went down to midthigh over saggy shorts, said he rarely allows his underpants to show.

"I have no choice" but to buy more pants, said the Middleton High School sophomore who was walking to his Belmont Heights Estates home. "I don't want to get into trouble. But all of my pants are big. It makes me nervous to think it could happen."

Siplin has introduced similar legislation the past three years. Each time, lawmakers killed the proposal. This year, however, the bill does not call for jail time and reached the floor of the Senate for the first time after clearing a Senate education committee in January. A similar bill in the House passed a House education committee in February and was referred to the House Schools and Learning Council.

Richedean Hills-Ackbar hopes the bill passes.

"I'm tired of seeing all these boys' underwear," said the 42-year-old grandmother. "Maybe this will put a stop to it once and for all."

The Senate will continue debate on Siplin's bill today.

Reporter Marilyn Brown contributed to this report. Russell Ray can be reached at (850) 222-8382. Cloe Cabrera can be reached at (813) 259-7656.

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