# Louisiana legislature wants to make wearing pants below the waist a crime! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 21, 2004, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louisiana-legislature-wants-to-make-wearing-pants-below-the-waist-a-crime/241220 "2004-04-21T14:46:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**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 21, 2004, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louisiana-legislature-wants-to-make-wearing-pants-below-the-waist-a-crime/241220/1 "2004-04-21T14:46:26Z")
In the spirit of this thread, [That guy’s wearing fashionably over-sized sports-related attire!](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=251877), Louisiana is trying to make wearing pants below the waist a crime! [House Bill 1626](http://www.legis.state.la.us/leg_docs/04RS/CVT6/OUT/0000LE3D.PDF), introduced on April 20, 2004: > [@](#): > > Creates crime of illegally wearing pants below waist. Proposed law provides that if a person appears in public with his pants below his waist and is exposing his skin or intimate clothing, it is a crime and the person can be fined not more than $500 or imprisoned for not more than six months, or both. Clearly it is targeting the hip-hop style of wearing your pants really low and showing your boxer shorts. The use of “his,” though, makes me wonder if girls in low-cut jeans with their thongs hanging out could be committing a crime too?! What about plumbers with their buttcracks showing? Will they be thrown in jail? Boy these legislators have way too much time on their hands… ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2004, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louisiana-legislature-wants-to-make-wearing-pants-below-the-waist-a-crime/241220/2 "2004-04-21T15:05:41Z")
It’ll never happen, but I’ve got to say, I’m about up to “here” with the underwear thing. ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2004, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louisiana-legislature-wants-to-make-wearing-pants-below-the-waist-a-crime/241220/3 "2004-04-21T15:34:47Z")
You forsee a lot of people wearing shorts\* that look a lot like boxers… \*Is that word the same in American? By ‘shorts’ I mean ‘like trousers[sub]uk[/sub]/pants[sub]us[/sub], but with short legs’. ---
**Author:** ![RandomLetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8edcca/32.png) [@RandomLetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandomLetters)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2004, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louisiana-legislature-wants-to-make-wearing-pants-below-the-waist-a-crime/241220/4 "2004-04-21T15:44:38Z")
You have the correct usage, **Shade.** About the law, it seems to be an awful frivolous use of the lawmakers time. On the other hand, people wearing their pants below the waste look like idiots, and I don’t like public displays of stupidity. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2004, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louisiana-legislature-wants-to-make-wearing-pants-below-the-waist-a-crime/241220/5 "2004-04-21T16:04:20Z")
> [@RandomLetters](#): > > About the law, it seems to be an awful frivolous use of the lawmakers time. Isn’t Louisiana the same state that tried to ban glowsticks and pacifiers a few years ago? ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2004, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louisiana-legislature-wants-to-make-wearing-pants-below-the-waist-a-crime/241220/6 "2004-04-21T16:57:21Z")
> [@RandomLetters](#): > > it seems to be an awful frivolous use of the lawmakers time. Clearly, you have not lived in Louisiana. At least letting them make silly laws keeps them from taking bribes. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2004, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louisiana-legislature-wants-to-make-wearing-pants-below-the-waist-a-crime/241220/7 "2004-04-21T17:59:18Z")
> [@nyctea scandiaca](#): > > … Louisiana is trying to make wearing pants below the waist a crime! Let’s not paint all of Louisiana’s denizens with the same brush. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2004, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louisiana-legislature-wants-to-make-wearing-pants-below-the-waist-a-crime/241220/8 "2004-04-21T18:16:50Z")
Heh. That proposed law was written by an idiot. One who apparently hasn’t noticed that \* all \* pants are worn below the waist. In a few cases, the \* waistband \* of the pants may dip below the waist. As far as I know, there’s no precise demarcation on the body that denotes the waist. Interesting to know how they’re going to enforce that law. Anyone who ventures out without a shirt is going to potentially be in violation. And at the very least, I suspect a lot of plumbers are going to have trouble making bail. Humor aside, I’d be interested in knowing what compelling public need that statute is going to fulfill. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2004, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louisiana-legislature-wants-to-make-wearing-pants-below-the-waist-a-crime/241220/9 "2004-04-21T18:17:18Z")
Shouldn’t that be “wearing pants _just_ below the waist a crime”? I mean we can still wear pants below the waist as long as a portion is above the waist too, right. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2004, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louisiana-legislature-wants-to-make-wearing-pants-below-the-waist-a-crime/241220/10 "2004-04-21T18:19:09Z")
Simul-pant! ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2004, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louisiana-legislature-wants-to-make-wearing-pants-below-the-waist-a-crime/241220/11 "2004-04-21T18:34:41Z")
> [@GMRyujin](#): > > Clearly, you have not lived in Louisiana. At least letting them make silly laws keeps them from taking bribes. Exactly. Considering the vast numbers of people I’ve seen who wear their pants this way, enforcing this would be impossible. They’d be fining entire NEIGHBORHOODS. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2004, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louisiana-legislature-wants-to-make-wearing-pants-below-the-waist-a-crime/241220/12 "2004-04-21T18:47:32Z")
Can’t Louisiana just stick with the accepted point-and-laugh technique? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2004, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louisiana-legislature-wants-to-make-wearing-pants-below-the-waist-a-crime/241220/13 "2004-04-21T18:59:37Z")
“Thereby exposing skin or intimate clothing” Hmmm. Does that mean guys at the beach not wearing underwear could be charged? If you don’t have underwear on under your boardshorts, they become intimate clothing by definition… This guy’s a jackass. ---
**Author:** ![phall0106](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phall0106/32/5934_2.png) [@phall0106](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phall0106)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2004, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louisiana-legislature-wants-to-make-wearing-pants-below-the-waist-a-crime/241220/14 "2004-04-21T19:05:44Z")
_…picturing the entire population of Louisiana walking around with their pants pulled up to their armpits, old man style…_ ---
**Author:** ![harmless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/2acd7d/32.png) [@harmless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmless)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2004, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louisiana-legislature-wants-to-make-wearing-pants-below-the-waist-a-crime/241220/15 "2004-04-21T20:40:54Z")
> [@phall0106](#): > > _…picturing the entire population of Louisiana walking around with their pants pulled up to their armpits, old man style…_ Oh, how that made me giggle! > [@nyctea scandiaca](#): > > The use of “his,” though, makes me wonder if girls in low-cut jeans with their thongs hanging out could be committing a crime too?! Good point! I am absolutely sick of the girls around here (college and high schoolers ) wearing pants so low you can about see their pudendas! Call me a prude, but I just find it nasty. ---
**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 21, 2004, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louisiana-legislature-wants-to-make-wearing-pants-below-the-waist-a-crime/241220/16 "2004-04-21T20:57:24Z")
> [@harmless](#): > > Good point! > I am absolutely sick of the girls around here (college and high schoolers ) wearing pants so low you can about see their pudendas! > Call me a prude, but I just find it nasty. Well, the dirty old men of the Louisiana legislature probably don’t mind seeing the scantily-clad young ladies prancing about with their low-rider pants and thongs showing…they probably just care about the gangsta-wannabees in their hip-hop style clothes. But yeah I agree with you. Seeing the Brittney Spears-wannabe pre-teens and young teens and the outfits they wear, it is hard to believe their mothers let them out of the house. It is indecent, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2004, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louisiana-legislature-wants-to-make-wearing-pants-below-the-waist-a-crime/241220/17 "2004-04-21T21:16:35Z")
> [@](#): > > Creates crime of illegally wearing pants below waist. Proposed law provides that if a person appears in public with his pants below his waist and is exposing his skin or intimate clothing… NEWS FLASH… Louisiana first state to mandate floor length kilts for all men. I’m STILL trying to decide if this is actually written in English. ---
**Author:** ![dook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@dook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dook)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2004, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louisiana-legislature-wants-to-make-wearing-pants-below-the-waist-a-crime/241220/18 "2004-04-22T18:45:07Z")
They must not have anything useful to do in Louisiana. While I agree it looks REALLY stupid when people walk around wearing shorts 6 to 8 inches below where they’re supposed to be worn… To outlaw it for whatever reason is rediculous and authoritarian. Now I can see a potention reasoning for it. The people who wear their pants like that are most often in a certain type of lifestyle. By using this law as an excuse to question people and search them for drugs, they could potentially pull in a lot of people for drug possession. But it’s still rediculous. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2004, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louisiana-legislature-wants-to-make-wearing-pants-below-the-waist-a-crime/241220/19 "2004-04-22T19:07:11Z")
> [@nyctea scandiaca](#): > > In the spirit of this thread, [That guy’s wearing fashionably over-sized sports-related attire!](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=251877), Louisiana is trying to make wearing pants below the waist a crime! [House Bill 1626](http://www.legis.state.la.us/leg_docs/04RS/CVT6/OUT/0000LE3D.PDF), introduced on April 20, 2004: Omigod, you mean a state legislator is proposing a stupid law? This has GOT to be a first! Daniel