Great moments in law reform

Lowering the Bar -Opa-locka, [Florida,] ... passed its no-low-pants ordinance in 2007. That ordinance applied only to males, probably because, one might reasonably surmise, only males would actually be dumb enough to walk around in public looking this way. But by 2013, either the females of Opa-locka (and their pants) had also sunk to the same level, or concerns had been raised about equal protection, or both. In any event, the ordinance was amended in 2013 so that it (and hopefully pants) would cover women as well as men.

In fact, the ordinance has been amended five times over the years.... As the ordinance currently stands, it applies to “saggy pants or slacks apparel wherein underwear or undergarments are exposed” in city buildings, parks, and businesses within city limits. Females are also forbidden to wear “saggy shirt or blouse apparel,” whatever that means, though this is apparently okay for males.

The word “saggy” is not defined... According to the Herald‘s report, this was one motivation for the commission’s repeal of the ordinance. Or its likely repeal, that is, because as the Herald also points out, this vote was only the “first reading” of the measure.