So for all of y’all who were unaware, up until a few days ago, it was completely and utterly illegal to buy or sell vibrators (or other sex toys) in the great state of Texas.
Here’s the skinny:
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, ruling in a case originally filed in federal court in Austin, found that the ban in the Texas penal code on selling or promoting obscene devices violates the right to privacy under the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. “Whatever one might think or believe about the use of these devices, government interference with their personal and private use violates the Constitution,” said the opinion in the case considered by a three-judge panel of the New Orleans-based court.
The opinion relied heavily on the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2003 decision in Lawrence and Garner v. Texas, which struck down a Texas law prohibiting private consensual sex among members of the same sex. That case established a broad constitutional right to sexual privacy.
As a native Coloradan, I never even knew about the CO law anti-vibes, but apparently it was struck down relatively recently…and a few more states have similar laws still on the books. So it seems this is one small step for sex toys, but there are several more to be taken.

3 comments
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February 26, 2008 at 3:43 pm
A
I’m extremely relieved to find that I’m no longer a fugitive in my home state. I guess I can get the dildos out of the safe deposit box now.
February 29, 2008 at 7:26 am
damedemi
Seriously. If the FBI ever stormed my home, they’d find an arsenal that would probably get me put away for a long, long time. What a relief!
March 3, 2008 at 5:20 pm
heartheart1234
You could always buy sex toy in Texas, there are tons of stores here. Was that illegal the whole time? Wow.