# Dumbass Lousiana legislator wants to ban low cut pants. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 24, 2004, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-lousiana-legislator-wants-to-ban-low-cut-pants/241762 "2004-04-24T04:11:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2004, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-lousiana-legislator-wants-to-ban-low-cut-pants/241762/41 "2004-04-26T02:57:31Z")
> [@Phnord Prephect](#): > > Is it legal to wear ONLY underwear, without any pants? I personally don’t see anything ‘lewd’ about a man walking around in boxers (assuming, of course, that the barn door remains closed); the person is completely covered, and not subject to ‘indecent exposure’ regulation, in a pair of shorts… regardless of the material. > > So, if you’re out walking around with your underwear showing… the appropriate response, to avoid breaking the law, is to COMPLETELY remove your pants. This is legal, but the slightly-baggier-than-normal pants isn’t. > > Yup. Makes sense to me. 😕 Anecdote from long ago (it’s bewildering that this is even relevant today): Whe I was in elementary school I had a teacher who’d started working back in the '50s. At her first place of employment there was a dress code which decreed that all female teachers must wear skirts or dresses to work - no pants. She purposely showed up one morning wearing a pantsuit, and was promptly called to the office and ordered to go home and change into a less scandalous outfit. No need. She took off her pants, put her belt on over her (long) shirt, and voila! she was suddenly suitably attired for work. I would have loved to have seen the administrator’s reaction. 😃 50 years later, some kook in Louisiana with a stick up his ass wants to make the same kind of silly school dress code that was outdated by the '60s into a law for the 21st century. This ought to get laughed out of the legislature. ---
**Author:** ![Sample\_the\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Sample\_the\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sample_the_Dog)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2004, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-lousiana-legislator-wants-to-ban-low-cut-pants/241762/42 "2004-04-26T03:34:31Z")
Finally, a law that attempts to stop the [enabling](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=252967)! Like the parents of these kids, my parents were enablers, and I’m still paying the price. Representative Shepherd should be applauded, right along with Representative Bill Heath, who has had the good sense to finally try to stop enabling women in Georgia who want to get their [genitals pierced](http://www.accessnorthga.com/news/ap_newfullstory.asp?ID=34411). ---
**Author:** ![BabaBooey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dfb087/32.png) [@BabaBooey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BabaBooey)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2004, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-lousiana-legislator-wants-to-ban-low-cut-pants/241762/43 "2004-04-26T04:18:40Z")
Regardless of what the article says, the JP community is not outraged at low cut pants. Aside from a few dumbasses like this Shepard guy, and Kenner, Jefferson Parish is a nice place to live. Harry Lee has done a great job down here and I bet he feels the same way about this legislation as we all do… ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2004, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-lousiana-legislator-wants-to-ban-low-cut-pants/241762/44 "2004-04-26T12:44:38Z")
> [@percypercy](#): > > But, but, how could Britney ever come home again? > -Lil Y’know, maybe THAT is the idea, now that I think about it… ---
**Author:** ![Achilles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dc4da7/32.png) [@Achilles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achilles)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2004, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-lousiana-legislator-wants-to-ban-low-cut-pants/241762/45 "2004-04-26T13:09:15Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > Then you’d have to figure if your pants are a form of protected expression, and after that, whether this law falls within the constitutionally admissible range of reasonable regulation of time, place and manner, and whether within that range it is arbitrary. If a lady had a thong that said “NO MORE BUSH”, you could argue that they were trying to censor her freedom of speech. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2004, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-lousiana-legislator-wants-to-ban-low-cut-pants/241762/46 "2004-04-26T13:37:18Z")
> [@Already in Use](#): > > Yeah, neither have I, at least, not in real life. They’re all well and good if you’re Jennifer Lopez and have a small waist and a big butt, but meanwhile, there are countless stunningly gorgeous women who would look amazing in any other clothing, but wear the low-cut pants and look horrible. A pair of pants have got to be pretty damn unflattering to look bad on even the most beautiful people. > . I disagree. I think most women I see in low-rise jeans look great in them, though I agree on the point of not having one’s underwear show. Same for guys. Though I did see one the other day wearing a pair of l.r. jeans that had “Von Dutch” embroidered in big pink letters across the butt. I do think name brands are an important indicator of quality when it comes to jeans, but I don’t understand the appeal of having a name scrawled across your butt. ---
**Author:** ![Zap\_Rowsdower](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3da27b/32.png) [@Zap\_Rowsdower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zap_Rowsdower)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2004, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-lousiana-legislator-wants-to-ban-low-cut-pants/241762/47 "2004-04-26T14:28:57Z")
In the immortal words of Crow T. Robot: “Never go to the South for any reason. In fact, please South, secceed again. We won’t stop you this time.” Well, except for the good parts of Texas ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2004, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-lousiana-legislator-wants-to-ban-low-cut-pants/241762/48 "2004-04-26T16:43:13Z")
Hey! I started a thread about this last week! [Louisiana legislature wants to make wearing pants below the waist a crime!](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=252163) ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2004, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-lousiana-legislator-wants-to-ban-low-cut-pants/241762/49 "2004-04-26T17:21:49Z")
> [@Mama Tiger](#): > > What’s so ridiculous is that these guys _dont_ show their ass cracks, just their underwear. Nuh-uh… I saw a guy walking down the street from the front and I could see his… er… the “base of his shaft”. I kid you not. Little Elvis appeared to be the only thing keep his pants up (and barely) and when he took a step there was enough give in the clothing that – whup! there it is! Pubes were exposed. It was gross. ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2004, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-lousiana-legislator-wants-to-ban-low-cut-pants/241762/50 "2004-04-26T18:01:00Z")
Well, in all fairness, I’ve seen a handful of women wearing pants that were cut so low they had to wax before getting dressed–and I ain’t talking about their legs, folks. If you’re exposing vulva, it seems like you’d be in violation of existing indecent exposure statutes, at least in most places. (After all, the only way to get cited for indecent exposure in Nawlins is to whip it out and piss on a policeman’s horse.) Same for the fellow **Eats\_Crayons** saw. If banning wearing pants that expose your genitals in public is puritanical, we need to lobby to have indecent exposure laws overturned. ---
**Author:** ![lisacurl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/41988e/32.png) [@lisacurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisacurl)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2004, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-lousiana-legislator-wants-to-ban-low-cut-pants/241762/51 "2004-04-26T18:13:11Z")
> [@Mama Tiger](#): > > Oh, and I just thought I’d add that Derrick Shepherd must not be exactly a brilliant legislator since I’ve never even _heard_ of him before this. I have a friend who works for the Legislature. She contends that Shepherd is so close to brain dead that she’s amazed he manages to maintain breathing and circulation functions. She also maintains that he’s a pandering asshat looking for publicity. ---
**Author:** ![Sample\_the\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Sample\_the\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sample_the_Dog)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2004, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-lousiana-legislator-wants-to-ban-low-cut-pants/241762/52 "2004-04-27T01:09:50Z")
> [@nyctea scandiaca](#): > > Hey! I started a thread about this last week! > > [Louisiana legislature wants to make wearing pants below the waist a crime!](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=252163) Yeah, but you didn’t put the phrase “dumbass… legislator” in the subject line. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Tiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2004, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-lousiana-legislator-wants-to-ban-low-cut-pants/241762/53 "2004-04-27T02:29:55Z")
Hey, **BabaBooey** , another JP Doper? Cool! And another Sheriff Harry Lee fan, I see, too. When we first moved here and had a problem with our homestead exemption a few years ago and had to go to the sheriff’s department because they collect all the taxes, I was more than a bit skeptical – but I have never in all my born days received such prompt, friendly, helpful service from a public office of _any_ kind. Got our problem solved for us in about two minutes. We decided then and there that if Harry runs that efficient a department, we’ll be happy to continue to make our property tax payments out to him by name. And please note, non-JP Dopers, none of the above was sarcasm!! (Although I really wish they’d pick another corner than the one around the block from our house for one of the cash cow speed traps – we’re tired of being honked at and tailgated by other drivers for sticking to the speed limit because we know that at least 50% of the time there _will_ be a cop around that next bend in the road! ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2004, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-lousiana-legislator-wants-to-ban-low-cut-pants/241762/54 "2004-04-27T08:15:28Z")
> [@nyctea scandiaca](#): > > Hey! I started a thread about this last week! > > [Louisiana legislature wants to make wearing pants below the waist a crime!](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=252163) You still haven’t made it plain whether you’re up with pants, or down with pants. Inquiring minds want to know. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Tiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2004, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-lousiana-legislator-wants-to-ban-low-cut-pants/241762/55 "2004-05-06T23:10:37Z")
Dear heavens. This piece of idiocy just made it out of committee and will now be voted on by the full House. I even just saw a report about it on the teevee. I’ll keep you posted. ::shudder:: ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2004, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-lousiana-legislator-wants-to-ban-low-cut-pants/241762/56 "2004-05-06T23:48:58Z")
> [@Zap\_Rowsdower](#): > > In the immortal words of Crow T. Robot: > > “Never go to the South for any reason. In fact, please South, secceed again. We won’t stop you this time.” > > Well, except for the good parts of Texas Government stupidity isn’t limited to the South. Remember that legislator in Ohio who wanted a law to prevent overweight guys from going topless? ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Tiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-lousiana-legislator-wants-to-ban-low-cut-pants/241762/57 "2004-05-26T13:33:25Z")
Bump. This just in: I heard on the news this morning that the Louisiana House actually _rejected_ this bill, warning it could “make Louisiana a laughingstock.” (I think it’s too late for that.) The scary part? The final vote was – 54 to 39! Yes, this piece of idiocy got **39** votes. Sheesh. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-lousiana-legislator-wants-to-ban-low-cut-pants/241762/58 "2004-05-26T13:50:06Z")
Thanks for the update. At least it shows that non-morons in Lousiana still (slightly) outnumber the morons. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Tiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-lousiana-legislator-wants-to-ban-low-cut-pants/241762/59 "2004-05-26T14:03:26Z")
Not by much, **Diogenes**. Not by much. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-lousiana-legislator-wants-to-ban-low-cut-pants/241762/60 "2004-05-26T17:48:43Z")
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