WINNSBORO – Town Council Tuesday night unanimously passed final reading of an ordinance to prohibit the wearing of sagging pants in public within the town limits of Winnsboro. The ordinance cleared public hearing without comment from the public.
The ordinance prohibits the wearing of pants more than 3 inches below the hips and exposing skin or undergarments. It also prohibits parents or legal guardians from “willfully” allowing their minor to appear in public wearing pants that violate the 3-inch rule.
Effective July 30 and until Sept. 30, violators will be issued a warning by Public Safety officers. Beginning Oct. 1, violators will be slapped with a $25 ticket.
The ordinance was proposed by Councilman Clyde Sanders at Council’s June 3 meeting in reaction to a fashion statement he said was an embarrassment to the community.
“It’s embarrassing to me to go to Wal-Mart or walk down Main Street and have somebody holding their pants up just to take a step, and that’s what they’re doing,” Sanders said during the June 3 meeting. “If a female, 18 to 40 years old, walked into Wal-Mart with their pants below their butt, she would probably be arrested for indecent exposure.”
