Texas v. Sex Toys

The porning of America isn't a steady progression; there are ebbs and flows in the direction of restraint.

Last month, for example, a woman was arrested for selling dildos to two undercover officers posing as a married couple in Burleson, Texas, a town of 26,000 located outside of Fort Worth. Joanne Webb, a distributor for adult home party company Passion Parties, was arrested under a violation of obscenity laws. According to Section 43.21 of the Texas Penal Code, one of the definitions of "obscene" is "a device designed and marketed as useful for stimulations of the human genital organs." In plain words, selling dildos is illegal in Texas.

Excuse me? Prohibitions on the sale of sex toys outright, across the board, is simply ludicrous. Who cares what consenting adults buy to use in their own home? What about the principle of separation of bedroom and state! But I digress...

Webb's attorney, BeAnn Sisemore, motioned to dismiss the obscenity charges this week. Sisemore told the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram that she'll argue there is a constitutional right to fundamental privacy between adults in private, consensual sexual relationships. This right includes the right to use sexual devices, says Sisemore, and by extension, to buy them.

There is a precedent on Webb's side. A similarly sexually rigid Alabama law was struck down by a federal court in 1999, so Webb is hoping for the same in her case. She is currently out on bail of $1,500 dollars, but faces one year if convicted.