Charisa Bossinakis
Shockingly in Texas, it's illegal to own more than six dildos, but you can carry a handgun without any training or license.
Yes, yes. What kind of world are we living in??
In the wake of the Robb Elementary School shooting, many Americans are asking whether gun laws in Texas and the US need to be tightened.
Texas recently weakened their gun laws last year, according to The Washington Post, which allowed Texans the right to walk around with a firearm even if they have never had any formal training.
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Shortly after signing off on the bill, Governor Greg Abbott said: "Texas will always be the leader in defending the second amendment, which is why we built a barrier around gun rights.”
The rule lets anyone 21 years or older carry a handgun without having to do a background check, get a permit, be fingerprinted, do the four to six hours of training, complete a written exam or shooting proficiency test, according to The Texas Tribune.
People on social media are baffled that Texas allows people to get a handgun willy nilly, yet they still have an archaic law about dildo ownership.
In 2017, during SNL’s ‘Weekend Update’, Colin Jost spoke about the Las Vegas mass shooting, where 60 people were killed. The TV star asked how the gunman managed to own 47 firearms and remarked how 'no one should own 47 of anything'.
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He added: "There is a real law in Texas that says it’s illegal to own more than six dildos. And I get why—no one needs that many! If you have more than six dildos, it’s a clear sign you are training for something awful."
However, as it turns out his statement was not just a ploy for a joke, but a real law that actually exists on planet Earth.
According to Section 43.23 of the Texas penal code, although it doesn’t clearly state dildos, the law still regulates the possession of ‘obscene devices'.
It states: “A person commits an offense if, knowing its content and character, he wholesale promotes or possesses with intent to wholesale promote any obscene material or obscene device.”
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Meanwhile, another section clearly prohibits the number of sex toys a person can own: "A person who possesses six or more obscene devices or identical or similar obscene articles is presumed to possess them with intent to promote the same.”
While it still exists as a law in the Texan penal code, it's not legitimately enforceable because it's been deemed unconstitutional 'by a federal appeals court nearly a decade ago', according to Politifact.
Regardless of whether it's enforceable, it's still a part of the law and it's unlikely to be repealed anytime soon.
James C. Todd, a former Texas assistant attorney general, explained to Politifact why that is.
"They don’t want to go back and in the next election have it said (that) my opponent voted against a law to prohibit indecency," he said.