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Pull up your pants or pay a fine. That's the law in one Georgia town and it's making the city money. Now Wichita's vice mayor is wondering how a saggy pants law would go over in Wichita.
It's a look that generates a lot of opinions. "I see it as a style and I don't see anything wrong with it," said Marquez Chambers. But for others saggy pants are offensive. "To walk around with you pants to your knees and your underwear showing is an inappropriate way to dress," said Yealando Wilcoxson.
Albany Georgia agrees with Wilcoxson. For the last nine months, it's handed out tickets for pants that are too saggy. The fine starts at $20 and can go up to $200. People have to pay if their pants or skirts sit more than 7.5cm below the top of the hips, expose their skin or show their underwear. 187 citations have been issued raising almost $4,000. "That's why I don't live in Georgia," said Chambers.
But Wichita's vice mayor Lavonta Williams sent out an email Thursday trying to gauge public opinion on having a similar law here. It generates a variety of opinions. "I think there should be some type of law or penalty," Wilcoxson said. While Mike Stout says Wichita has more important things to work on than saggy pants. "I don't think that would be a very good idea," he said.
He says the law would interfere too much with personal rights. "I don't like them but I don't think I want to tell people they can't wear them," he said. Chambers agrees. "Shouldn't we be able to dress like we want, they say it's freedom. What's wrong with sagging," he said.
But for people like Wilcoxson there's a lot wrong with sagging. She says a law would save people from seeing things they don't want to see. "Less of underwear and butts and all that kind of stuff, I think that's a good thing," she said.
Right now it's just an idea. There are no firm plans yet to start making people pull up their pants or pay in Wichita.