The lonestar state of the Bible belt, with its history of secession movements and active ban on abortions, is known for making its own rules, some of which are difficult to believe and even harder to enforce.
“Texas has more than a few of oddball laws on its books — it’s still illegal to milk to someone else’s cow, for instance — but for the most part, they’re not ultra-enforceable,” reports kxan. “But did you know there’s a Texas penal code dictating how many sex toys a Texan can own? What’s more, it’s been enforced relatively recently.”
It’s true, the Texas Penal Code Title 9 (Offenses Against Public Order and Decency), Chapter 43 (Public Indecency), which outlines laws regarding prostitution, pornography and more, has a particular Section 43.23 dictating laws regarding “obscene devices,” defined as “a dildo or artificial vagina, designed or marketed as useful primarily for the stimulation of human genital organs.”
In addition to restricting the amount of adult toys a Texan can legally own or sell (the arbitrary number is six, by the way, which is fewer than the number of guns a Texan can own), Texas Penal Code also dictates the marketing of adult toys for sale.
As Reuters reported in 2004, a Dallas-area Texan named Joanne Webb faced up to a year in prison and a $4,000 fine after throwing a Tupperware-style sales party for adult items, called “Passion Parties.”
Webb was charged with violating the Texas obscenity law, which essentially bans sex education, or “demonstration and instruction of an ‘obscene’ device’s intended uses,” shares kxan. “According to Texas law, items like adult toys must be sold as ‘novelties.'”
Fortunately, the case was dismissed and the offender, free to go.
But a few years later, in 2007, a lingerie store in Lubbock called Somethin’ Sexy received a police raid following a complaint of the obvious: the sale of adult toys, according to local outlets. Those charges were also subsequently dropped.
The obscenity statute faces ongoing challenges from progressive residents and politicians, although it still remains in effect. Since its last major challenge, in 2008, U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel has explained that the Texas Supreme Court will not be taking cases at this time, but that the parties concerned have come to the consensus that the law is “unconstitutional and unenforceable,” according to kxan.
To our adult stores in Texas, we salute you.
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