New York Fashion Police Restrained By Bronx Court
As expected, a court in New York has ruled that there is no constitutional prohibition on dressing like Kris Kross. A Bronx man named Julio Martinez was ticketed by a New York City cop for cinching his pants below the buttocks, as is the style amongst the kids, and "potentially" (but not actually) exposing his "private parts." The New York Post has all the fascinating details:
A Bronx judge has thrown out a summons issued against a Bronx man for wearing saggy pants, finding that "the Constitution still leaves some opportunity for people to be foolish if they so desire."…
"While most of us may consider it distasteful, and indeed foolish, to wear one's pants so low as to expose the underwear . . . people can dress as they please, wear anything, so long as they do not offend public order and decency," the judge wrote.
Martinez was given his summons for disorderly conduct on April 20 of last year.
The summons by the unidentified police officer charged that Martinez had acted in a disorderly manner because he had "his pants down below his buttocks exposing underwear [and] potentially showing private parts."There was no other reason listed for the ticket besides Martinez's pants, and Franco noted: "The issuance of this summons appears to be an attempt by one police officer to show his displeasure with a particular style of dress."
According to New York State Senator Eric Adams, if we can only "stop the sag" the social problems afflicting his constituents would away. Or something. In the video below (130,000 views and counting!), Adams explains that if we "raise our pants, we raise our image."
UPDATE: I somehow missed that Damon Root flagged the same story, though with commentary from the august New York Law Journal and not the New York Post. But my post, while also making a Kris Kross reference, includes the "Stop Sagging" video. So I win.
