Yesterday I saw an article that said that the Dallas city council was considering banning “saggy pants.” Today I see that they’re not the only ones.

I can fully sympathize with their moral outrage. At a gas station in Virginia, several years ago, I had the misfortune of seeing a brother whose pants were cut so low that the crotch of them was hanging around his ankles. No exaggeration. (I didn’t notice whether his underwear was showing or not, I was too busy staring at the unfortunate apparel itself.)

But despite my personal distaste for it, I have to point out that a person’s choice of clothing, and how he wears it, is constitutionally protected expression. There’s nothing illegal, or even immoral, about having the waistband of your underwear extend further than that of your pants. Bathing suits and shorts cover the same area, often less effectively, and no one expects you modestly to hide them under pants. And plumbers often display even more than that. So long as the strategically important bits are covered, you are (and should be) on the sunny side of the law.

I predict that these attempts at dictating public morality will be struck down by a Supreme Court ruling relatively soon.