William Morris
July 23, 2007
Barracudas make waves at state meet
July 25, 2007Lafourche Parish President Charlotte Randolph has signed the ordinance banning saggy pants; however, because of the law’s vagueness, authorities will not enforce the ban until the parish council amends it.
Randolph signed the ordinance outlawing saggy pants in Lafourche Parish Friday. She told the Associate Press that the ordinance may be unconstitutional.
Randolph told the AP that she had heard from both sides of the issue and concluded that endorsing the ordinance was the best solution for everyone.
As written, the ordinance also outlaws revealing bra straps, showing “partial nudity” and dressing in a manner “not becoming of his or her sex.” Currently, parish councilmen are concerned with the vagueness of the ordinance, stating that it could lead to civil lawsuits.
“Once this goes to court – and it will go to court – the council will have to reconvene on whether or not it wants to spend council funds to defend the charges,” Councilman Mark Atzenhoffer said.
The consequences of violating the ordinance are a $50 fine for the first offense, $100 fine for the second and $100 fine plus 16 hours of community service for the third offense.
Ordinance author Councilman Lindel Toups said the ordinance is meant to keep people from wearing pants that show their underwear.
“I will talk to the sheriff and the district attorney for some input as to what is enforceable,” Toups said. “We want to make the ordinance simple enough so that we can all live with it.”
Randolph, Toups and Council President Tommy Lasseigne are currently working with the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office and District Attorney’s office to amend the ordinance clarifying the guidelines for enforcement.
Sheriff Craig Webre said, “The only portion that is enforceable right now in the current ordinance is the prohibition of nudity because it’s readily understood by the population and the law enforcement agencies.”
District Attorney Cam Morvant agreed.
“The Sheriff’s Office is going to have to be the ones to enforce the law,” he said.
Morvant said the way the judicial system works is if the officers feel that someone is in direct violation of the ordinance, then a citation is given. “I will enforce the citation as I do with all other ordinances – review and make the necessary charges,” he said.
The amended ordinance will make its final appearance on the Lafourche Parish Council agenda at the Aug. 7 meeting, according to Toups.
The controversy started because Toups was tired of seeing young men, which includes his grandson, in the parish wearing pants exposing their undergarments.
The council narrowly approved the saggy pants ban 5-4 with Councilmen Daniel Lorraine, Lasseigne, Toups, Tyrone Williams and Michael Delatte voting yes.
Lasseigne cast the deciding vote. He said, “I think we have a problem and it needs to be addressed.”
The Associated Press contributed to portions of this story.
