NASHVILLE — A “saggy pants” bill pending in the General Assembly could find itself getting tripped up over constitutional issues, state Attorney General Bob Cooper warned in a legal opinion issued today.
House Bill 2099, sponsored by Rep. Joe Towns, D-Memphis, seeks to make it a Class C criminal misdemeanor for “any person to knowingly wear pants below the waistline, in a public place, in a manner that exposes the person’s underwear or bare buttocks.”
An amended version of the bill provides fines of $25 and 40 hours of community service for first offenders with penalties reaching $250 and 160 hours of community service work for four-time offenders.
The bill, which Rep. Towns has joked is an “anti-crack bill,” has prompted plenty of discussion among lawmakers and civil libertarians over morals, taste and personal rights.
In the opinion, issued Wednesday, Attorney General Cooper said the bill is “arguably unconstitutionally vague because it does not set forth a standard for its violation that may be readily understood.”
He warned it could also be “vulnerable to constitutional attack on substantive grounds, because it arguably interferes with a liberty interest to dress as one chooses. Additionally, the proposed statute could be challenged as violating the protections of the First Amendment and the Equal Protection Clause, although the likelihood of such challenges is unclear.”
Andy Sher is a Nashville-based staff writer covering Tennessee state government and politics for the Times Free Press. A Washington correspondent from 1999-2005 for the Times Free Press, Andy previously headed up state Capitol coverage for The Chattanooga Times, worked as a state Capitol reporter for The Nashville Banner and was a contributor to The Tennessee Journal, among other publications. Andy worked for 17 years at The Chattanooga Times covering police, health care, county government, ...
Plumbers beware.
Or login with:
New Account