dildos
Dildos in pink, blue and violet lying on a white surface

Meanwhile in Texas: It’s Illegal to Own More Than 6 Dildos

By Mandatory Editors

In general, the law keeps us safe, protects us from “bad actors,” and ideally supports a functional society. But sometimes, the law oversteps and ends up legislating private matters it has no business butting into, like our sex lives. Some restrictions – especially in hindsight – are downright ridiculous. Don’t believe us? Have we got a story for you…

Once upon a time – by which we mean 1973 – the Texas Legislature passed Section 43.21 of the Texas Penal Code. Dubbed “The Obscene Device Law,” it prohibited the sale or promotion of “obscene devices” that stimulated human genitals, like dildos or artificial vaginas.

Not many people have been punished under the law (though we bet if they own obscene devices, they’d probably get off on a little reprimand), but there have been a few, like a former teacher and mother of three who was charged with selling a vibrator at a private party to a pair of undercover cops pretending to be a married couple in 2004. She was ultimately acquitted. There was also a 2007 lingerie shop raid in Lubbock where sex toys were confiscated and the clerk on duty was arrested. And in 2001, a husband and wife who happened to be attorneys tried to extort several of the woman’s lovers using the statute.

The law was updated in 2003, but appears to still include a line stating that it’s illegal to own more than six dildos. How did they decide on six as the limit? We have no idea. We’re guessing whoever proposed that part of the law probably did a quick check of their bedroom bureau drawer, counted their own sex toy stash, then added a couple just in case.

Variety is the spice of life, so we guess we could see why someone would own over half-a-dozen dildos? What the Texas Legislature hasn’t felt the need to restrict, perhaps unsurprisingly, is the size of said dildos. But, as we know, everything’s bigger in Texas…

Cover Photo: Claudia Nass (Getty Images)

Deep Dive: Is It Wrong to Pay for Sex?

MORE NEWS:

Deep Dive: Is Porn Ruining Your Sex Life?

Visit the Mandatory Shop for great deals on your very own Mandatory merch.

Follow Mandatory on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Weird News 7/21/2020

  • Men’s Beards May Have Evolved to Sustain Punches to the Head, Random Study Suggests Scientists Are Running Out of Things to Study

    Men’s Beards May Have Evolved to Sustain Punches to the Head, Random Study Suggests Scientists Are Running Out of Things to Study

    For more weird news, click here. 

    Photo Credit: max-kegfire (Getty Images)

  • Louisiana Man Puts the ‘Ass’ in Bass Pro Shop by Swimming in Fish Tank

    Louisiana Man Puts the ‘Ass’ in Bass Pro Shop by Swimming in Fish Tank

    For more weird news, click here.

    Photo Credit: Niklas Jourdan / EyeEm (Getty Images)

  • San Jose Police Fire Rubber Bullets at Their Own Trainer, Rupturing His Testicle (That’s Nuts)

    San Jose Police Fire Rubber Bullets at Their Own Trainer, Rupturing His Testicle (That’s Nuts)

    For more weird news, click here.

    Photo Credit: MediaNews Group/The Mercury News via Getty Images / Contributor (Getty Images)

  • Apple Delays iPhone 12 Release, Consumers Expected to Just Use Phone They’ve Had a Whole Year Already

    Apple Delays iPhone 12 Release, Consumers Expected to Just Use Phone They’ve Had a Whole Year Already

    For more weird news, click here.

    Photo Credit: Adam Kuylenstierna / EyeEm (Getty Images)

  • Ivanka Trump Tells Unemployed Americans to ‘Find Something New,’ Which Is Precisely What We Wish Her Whole Family Would Do

    Ivanka Trump Tells Unemployed Americans to ‘Find Something New,’ Which Is Precisely What We Wish Her Whole Family Would Do

    For more weird news, click here.

    Photo Credit: Alex Wong / Staff (Getty Images)

  • Dumb as Rocks: Kanye West Photoshops His Face Onto Mount Rushmore

    Dumb as Rocks: Kanye West Photoshops His Face Onto Mount Rushmore

    For more weird news, click here.

    Photo Credit: @kanyewest (Twitter)

  • The Internet Had Its Phallic Way With Ivanka Trump Modeling Goya Beans, Hilarious Tweets Ensued

    The Internet Had Its Phallic Way With Ivanka Trump Modeling Goya Beans, Hilarious Tweets Ensued

    For more weird news, click here.

    Photo Credit: @SsnarkIsMyGame (Twitter)

  • Rudy Giuliani Calls NYPD After Being Pranked by Sacha Baron Cohen, Can Only Take a Joke if it Becomes President

    Rudy Giuliani Calls NYPD After Being Pranked by Sacha Baron Cohen, Can Only Take a Joke if it Becomes President

    For more weird news, click here.

    Photo Credit: The Hollywood Reporter, via Getty Images

  • Badass Mother Who Wore Face Mask Through 38-Hour Labor Says ‘If I Can, So Can You’

    Badass Mother Who Wore Face Mask Through 38-Hour Labor Says ‘If I Can, So Can You’

    For more weird news, click here.

    Photo Credit: Jai Kershner

  • Aww Nuts: Squirrel in Colorado Tests Positive for Bubonic Plague Because 2020

    Aww Nuts: Squirrel in Colorado Tests Positive for Bubonic Plague Because 2020

    For more weird news, click here.

    Photo Credit: Picture Alliance via Getty Images

  • Meanwhile in Florida…Woman Sues for Paternity Test on Goats (But Not for the Reason You Think)

    Meanwhile in Florida…Woman Sues for Paternity Test on Goats (But Not for the Reason You Think)

    For more weird news, click here.

    Photo Credit: SOPA Images via Getty Images

  • Trump’s Terrorist Theory of 75-Year-Old Man Shoved by Police Exhibits New Expert Level of Sociopathic Thinking

    Trump’s Terrorist Theory of 75-Year-Old Man Shoved by Police Exhibits New Expert Level of Sociopathic Thinking

    For more weird news, click here. 

    Photo Credit: Pool, Getty Images
Mandatory Editors
Mandatory Editors

Share article

TRENDING
No content yet. Check back later!
Related
X