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The War On Saggy Pajamas Intensifies

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A recent legal maneuver made by a Louisiana lawman has created quite a “flap.” He’s grown tired of how casual people appear in public, especially people who treat pajamas as street clothes. So he’s decided to do something about it.

A Commissioner for Louisiana’s Caddo Parrish is tired of looking at your junk. Where did he come to this realization? Why, Wal-Mart, of course.  Commissioner Michael Williams says he was horrified when he espied a group of young miscreants “wearing pajama pants and house shoes.” He was extra-horrified when he glanced at one of the young men and noticed that “at the part where there should have been underwear” –  was allegedly “showing through the fabric.” Seems like existing law on indecent exposure should cover that, if it was really that bad, but Williams concluded further legislation was necessary (of course).

Williams invoked the tried-and-true “Slippery Slope” argument that has helped plenty of other politicians to pass dumb laws. “Today it’s pajamas,” he said, “tomorrow it’s underwear. Where does it stop?” We can only guess where it stops, Bill.

While Williams’ bill attempts to differentiate itself from standard Indecent Exposure laws, and even goes further as to try and describe just what “pajamas” are, the parish sheriff does not seem sold on the idea. “It’s going to be very difficult to enforce the way it’s described,” he said. Doesn’t mean they won’t try; Shreveport has been enforcing its saggy-pants ban, reporting 31 “incidents” during 2010, one every 12 days or so, involving the “wearing of pants below the waist in public.” We feel safer already.

 Let’s go to the man on the street for some opinions. “I’m an American,” said Khiry Tisdem into our microphone and faces when asked on the street, “and I can wear my pajamas anywhere I want.” Hey look! There’s another person on the street we can ask!
“I’m a grown man,” Tisdem’s boyfriend continued, wearing pants with pictures of Stewie from Family Guy on them. “I can wear my clothes the way I want.”

Williams said he plans to “poll his fellow commissioners” on the topic in February, and presumably will then draft an ordinance to address the pajama crisis if a majority of them don’t think this is stupid.

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