|
|
|
| Tue, Dec. 01 - - Mobile - RSS | |
|
|
Banning droopy drawers
Hip-hop-style dressers, women with hip-huggers and men with no behinds beware: Bill in Virginia legislature would fine anyone with droopy drawersDate published: 2/10/2005
By MICHAEL ZITZ
Virginia could lose plumbers' conventions for years to come if an indecent-exposure bill that passed the House of Delegates this week also clears the state Senate. On the positive side, sales of suspenders could increase markedly. Introduced by Del. Algie T. Howell Jr., D-Norfolk, the measure provides "that any person who exposes his below-waist undergarments in a lewd or indecent manner shall be assessed a $50 civil penalty." The House voted 60-34 Tuesday and Howell's bill will go before a Senate committee soon. The legislation is intended to stop teenage boys from wearing baggy, hip-hop-style pants that ride low and show their boxer shorts. It also could be applied to girls and women who wear low-cut pants that expose the top of thongs, which is a popular style. Students at James Monroe High School in Fredericksburg were talking about the legislation yesterday. "I think it's pretty bogus, definitely," said 15-year-old Kealan Sojack, a freshman who was wearing baggy jeans. "It's just silly. There are more important things to worry about." Julie Proffitt, a 17-year-old junior from the city, said: "I don't agree with it. I wear low-rise pants myself. I think it's a question of freedom of expression." Katie Haggerty, a 16-year-old James Monroe junior who lives at Marlboro Point in Stafford County, said, "I don't agree with showing thongs, but people should be allowed to wear what they want to wear." Fredericksburg-area representatives including Speaker of the House Bill Howell, R-Stafford, Del. Mark Cole, R-Spotsylvania, and Del. Albert C. Pollard Jr. D-Lancaster, voted for the bill. Del. Bobby Orrock, R-Spotsylvania, who is a teacher at Spotsylvania High School, voted against it. "As I see it, that's the parents' job," Orrock said. "It's the parents' responsibility what their kids are wearing and how they look in public. "I resolved the issue in my own family, where my son thought that looked cool and I told him he could either wear his pants up or not wear pants at all," Orrock said. "He decided the better part of wisdom was to follow Daddy's instructions."
Date published: 2/10/2005
|
 |
|||
|
|||
