The Shreveport city council voted 6-1 to abolish a 2007 ordinance banning people from wearing pants below their waistlines. ACLU Louisiana Legal Director Katie Schwartzmann says the law is has proven to be racially motivated, adding the government having to the ability to dictate clothing choices is a violation of rights.
“We think that violates people’s First Amendment rights to freedom of expression and it’s just essencially just government overreaching. I don’t think anyone wants the government telling us as citizens what we can wear.
Police data shows the ordinance resulted in the arrest of 699 black men and 12 white men, although it is unclear if anyone was arrested for the violation alone. Schwartzmann says the law could lead to a police interaction that might not end well.
“They have the full authority to search that person and potentially arrest them and those interactions can go wrong for a lot of reasons, so this law was very dangerous and we are glad that it is off the books.
The lone vote to keep the law in place came from Councilman James Flurry who says he decided on the vote after hearing feedback from constituents.
“The people out here do not want it and they’ve emailed and texted me, so I am going to stand true to my word and be the voice of the people,” said Flurry.
Flurry says he believes the law was put into place, not as an excuse to target a particular population, but to regulate decency standards for fashion. He adds he believes his own fashion is regulated and has no issue with the public’s expectations.
“If you wear a t-shirt that is a muscle-looking shirt, white, and if I wore that down there with nothing but that and a baseball cap, I’m sure somebody would say that I’m trying to be like a redneck,” said Flurry.
