BY KYLE BARNETT

Staff Reporter

LAPLACE- The American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana (ACLU) will consider pursuing legal action against St. John the Baptist Parish based on two citations given under a parish obscenity ordinance that was signed into effect earlier this year.

“Although we won’t pursue a case until we get a formal complaint, something like this would almost certainly pass our legal panel. We just need someone to come forward first,” said Marjorie Esman director of the ACLU.

In August, St. John the Baptist Parish joined a number of other parishes across Louisiana to pass obscenity laws concerning the showing of undergarments. These laws are largely aimed at “sagging,” a style of wearing pants below the waist exposing the wearer’s underwear.

In September the first citation was given under the new law to Josh Lee Wilson of New Orleans. Based on a report from the St. John Sheriff’s Office, deputies working the St. John Andouille Festival approached four men who were “sagging” and asked them to pull up their pants. When the men refused, the officers told them they would have to leave the festival. Wilson refused to comply with the officer’s request and threatened and pushed a deputy while he was being escorted off the grounds, according to the sheriff’s report. He was arrested and charged with resisting an officer, refusing to move on and indecent exposure.

Close to two weeks later Otis Dee Washington of LaPlace was arrested after fleeing from police when he and a friend were reported as suspicious individuals while walking down Yorktown Drive. Washington was apprehended when he was found hiding on a nearby porch. The report states “Washington’s pants were hanging well below his rear end while his undergarments were showing.”

Both men’s bonds were set at $2000, $500 for indecent exposure and $1500 for resisting an officer.

Esman says she is afraid the law unfairly targets young black men like Wilson and Washington.

Moe Rimawi, employee of Hipnotik Urban Trend in LaPlace, says every day customers come into his store sagging their pants. The store specializes in clothes and accessories geared toward a hip-hop image.

“I think it’s peoples choice if they want to sag it or not,” said Ramawi, also adding however, “I don’t think people should be showing their drawers.”

He says the law hasn’t affected business.

“It is a waste of law. There are better things to do,” Rimawi said. “(The law) adds to peoples problems. It is another thing to worry about.”

“State laws on obscenity strictly prohibit local communities from further restricting obscenity,” Esman said. “The state statute is crafted narrowly to respect the people’s rights given by the state Supreme Court. At the very least all of these statutes violate state law in that respect.”

“Obscenity has to do with exposing your body. If the issue was that people were exposing their anatomy, it may be covered by obscenity laws.”

Councilman Ronnie Smith who sponsored the ordinance said, “We’ve had a parish law in effect, for I don’t know how long, that addresses obscenity. This tweaked that ordinance.”

When asked for a statement on why he sponsored the law Smith said, “I am not backing up and making any more statements on that.”

St. John the Baptist Parish first passed obscenity laws in 1986 when it outlawed pornographic movies, books, magazines and sex toys.

The amendment passed in August addresses indecent exposure and outlaws the public display of nudity, partial nudity or in dress not becoming to his or her sex, or in any indecent exposure of his or her person or undergarments.

“The only thing that is not partial nudity is a burka,” said Esman. “It seems that it is up to the discretion of the officer. What does dress not becoming to his or her sex even mean?”

Loyola New Orleans law professor James Viator said, “It has to be a precise enough phrase and not let officers arrest people at their own discretion.”

Viator also added that under prior Federal Supreme Court rulings the ordinance is considered constitutional unless the sagging pants happen to be a political message or political speech.

“The real message may be: Momma’s raise your boy’s right,” Viator said. “It is too hard to legislate common sense. We have to leave that to the Mommas and Poppas.”