Legislators just can’t seem to help themselves.
Every year, they want to waste time and effort proposing silly, useless, or in some cases, just plain bad ideas that they want to enact into state law.
Here we are, just a few weeks into the session that Sen. Robert Ford, a Democratic senator from Charleston wants to ban profanity and sagging pants.
Ford, an African-American and a civil rights worker, told The Associated Press that he realizes it’s aimed at young black men.
“I am. I am. It’s a disgrace,” Ford told the AP. “I mean, this is supposed to be the proudest age in African-American lives ... and we’ve still got these young men, instead of trying to look like somebody who’s got it made, or somebody who’s looking out for their community, they want to look like prisoners.”
He also told the AP if all it does is create discussion then he’s OK with that, as well.
All across the country, as well as here in South Carolina, this issue surfaces from time to time.
The town of Pamplico in Florence County wanted to create a ban on sagging pants, but fortunately they backed off from the effort.
The whole idea of “pants police” is bad.
And who and how will people decide what’s profane?
Then you have the problem of the constitutionality of the bill as it regards freedom of speech.
First, we understand Ford’s concerns.
But it’s not a legislative issue, or for that matter, an issue to be dealt with by city councils or county councils.
Trying to legislate dress and speech just doesn’t work.
Parents and other role models need to try to get the message to teenagers about what is and isn’t appropriate.
Legislators have too much to worry about right now with the economic and other issues facing our state.
Ford’s bills aren’t the first and they won’t be the last in trying to create attention about issues that don’t belong on the legislative agenda.
And Ford even talks about running for governor and letting his key proposal be bringing back video poker to help the state out with its financial difficulties.
Enough said.
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