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View Full Version : Texas ban on sex toy sales is overturned



LiberalNation
02-14-2008, 07:28 AM
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080214/ap_on_re_us/sex_toys_ban;_ylt=ApVRtO4O4D5oXbSfJ8YIhGlvzwcF

FORT WORTH, Texas - A federal appeals court has overturned a statute outlawing sex toy sales in Texas, one of the last states — all in the South — to retain such a ban.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Texas law making it illegal to sell or promote obscene devices, punishable by as many as two years in jail, violated the right to privacy guaranteed by the 14th Amendment.

Companies that own Dreamer's and Le Rouge Boutique, which sell the devices in its Austin stores, and the retail distributor Adam & Eve sued in federal court in Austin in 2004 over the constitutionality of the law. They appealed after a federal judge dismissed the suit and said the Constitution did not protect their right to publicly promote such devices.

In its decision Tuesday, the appeals court cited Lawrence and Garner v. Texas, the U.S. Supreme Court's 2003 opinion that struck down bans on consensual sex between same-sex couples.

"Just as in Lawrence, the state here wants to use its laws to enforce a public moral code by restricting private intimate conduct," the appeals judges wrote. "The case is not about public sex. It is not about controlling commerce in sex. It is about controlling what people do in the privacy of their own homes because the state is morally opposed to a certain type of consensual private intimate conduct. This is an insufficient justification after Lawrence."

The Texas attorney general's office, which represented the Travis County district attorney in the case, has not decided whether to appeal, said agency spokesman Tom Kelley.

Phil Harvey, president of Adam & Eve Inc., said the 5th Circuit Court's decision was a big step forward. He said his business plans to expand to sell in stores and at home parties, something company consultants had been fearful of doing because of the Texas law.

Sitarro
02-14-2008, 07:40 AM
I guess that would be very important to those that don't possess the correct natural equipment to have sex the way nature designed us to have it ....... how pathetic to depend on plastics and latex to get off, I feel sorry for those that need those petroleum based products.:cool:

JohnDoe
02-14-2008, 10:51 AM
It's NONE of the government of Texas's business what goes on in the privacy of our homes regarding sex....

Excellent ruling from the 5th circuit.

jd

gabosaurus
02-14-2008, 01:24 PM
I guess that would be very important to those that don't possess the correct natural equipment to have sex the way nature designed us to have it ....... how pathetic to depend on plastics and latex to get off, I feel sorry for those that need those petroleum based products.:cool:

Get over it, dude. Some couples (and individuals) enjoy adding a little spice to the normal sexual routine. I know that guys can get off in two minutes, then roll over and go to sleep, but women are a bit more complex.
I am glad that this law was never in effect in California. My sister would have been in trouble a while back when she got me a vibrator for Christmas. :lmao:

Abbey Marie
02-14-2008, 01:28 PM
What's the breakdown estimate for these products in our landfills? I'm trying to go green... :laugh2:

avatar4321
02-14-2008, 02:02 PM
It's NONE of the government of Texas's business what goes on in the privacy of our homes regarding sex....

Excellent ruling from the 5th circuit.

jd

yeah cause the government has absolutely no business ensuring that the species perpetuate, but they have business in our workplaces. They have business telling us what our diet should be. They have business telling us what we can think. They have business telling us what to teach our children. They have business telling us we cant speak out on religious matters in public. but somehow the most important matter of making sure there are children in the future is somehow beyond their reach.

Got to love the liberal mentality.

avatar4321
02-14-2008, 02:03 PM
Get over it, dude. Some couples (and individuals) enjoy adding a little spice to the normal sexual routine. I know that guys can get off in two minutes, then roll over and go to sleep, but women are a bit more complex.
I am glad that this law was never in effect in California. My sister would have been in trouble a while back when she got me a vibrator for Christmas. :lmao:

You are making his point for him,

JohnDoe
02-14-2008, 02:13 PM
yeah cause the government has absolutely no business ensuring that the species perpetuate, but they have business in our workplaces. They have business telling us what our diet should be. They have business telling us what we can think. They have business telling us what to teach our children. They have business telling us we cant speak out on religious matters in public. but somehow the most important matter of making sure there are children in the future is somehow beyond their reach.

Got to love the liberal mentality.

were you for or against the government legalizing birth control?

are you for or against rubbers being made available to purchase at pharmacies etc?

do you think that sex toys of all sorts stops procreation and this is why you rambled on about this? If so, how so?

how would sex toys stop procreation moreso than birth control pills and spermicides and condoms? planned parenthood.

do you also support banning vasectomies and tubes being tied?

Where do you draw your line, and how did you rationaize where you drew it?

I understand what you are saying about making us a nanny state with a kazillion regulations and i personally do not support such a state and believe we have gone too far in many states pushing us towards that...

jd

Hagbard Celine
02-14-2008, 02:21 PM
yeah cause the government has absolutely no business ensuring that the species perpetuate, but they have business in our workplaces. They have business telling us what our diet should be. They have business telling us what we can think. They have business telling us what to teach our children. They have business telling us we cant speak out on religious matters in public. but somehow the most important matter of making sure there are children in the future is somehow beyond their reach.

Got to love the liberal mentality.

This is the stupidest f*cking "issue" I've seen in a while. Of course the government has absolutely no business restricting people from buying lube and dildos. Good ruling. Case closed.
"Perpetuating the species?" Please spare us all. If you think we need government help "perpetuating the species" you're more of a dingus than I've given you credit for.

avatar4321
02-14-2008, 02:30 PM
This is the stupidest f*cking "issue" I've seen in a while. Of course the government has absolutely no business restricting people from buying lube and dildos. Good ruling. Case closed.
"Perpetuating the species?" Please spare us all. If you think we need government help "perpetuating the species" you're more of a dingus than I've given you credit for.

Obviously logic is simply beyond you.

Somehow you liberals think government should interfere in every minor aspect of our life yet something as important as procreation is off limits.

And simply because it's a stupid law doesnt make it unconstitutional and I am freaking tired of seeing courts overturn laws on that basis when it's a legislative matter.

Mr. P
02-14-2008, 03:37 PM
So AV..you're willing to allow the Gov. in your bedroom?

Mr. P
02-14-2008, 03:38 PM
What's the breakdown estimate for these products in our landfills? I'm trying to go green... :laugh2:

Buy the good stuff.......lasts a lifetime (I hear).

Monkeybone
02-14-2008, 03:46 PM
good thing they overturned this, the VIBROMASTER 5000 is banned in Indiana.......or so i've heard.....

JohnDoe
02-14-2008, 04:02 PM
vibrators are NOT the only sex toys out there are they?

But my question for Avatar is how do sex toys actually stop procreation as he is concerned with....i don't think they would, even a vibrator...

however BC pills, Spermacides, and condoms, and vascectomies and tubal ligation too, all stop procreation, yet there are no laws on the books now to stop any of these things with our citizens....so, legally, how does one justify that the government should interfere with the sales of vibrators, and gels and other things?

And honestly, i can understand the point being made about procreation....not that i want to regulate it, but look what is happening in the EU with birthrates of their natural born citizens....

Something has to change with Children being ok only if you have one or two... type mentality... it is hard in today's times, with both parents working to make having lots of children the focus of the family unit i would imagine? There is so much more to what is going on with the population reduction taking place in the westernized world than vibrator sales that could be a thread in and of itself so i do not want to diminish the point that Avatar was trying to get across imo.

jd

Monkeybone
02-14-2008, 04:15 PM
what i got from Av's post JD is that it isn't nessecarily just BC, which is 99.999% sure is used in herto relations ( i could be wrong..there are some weirdies out there) and that when ya get into homo relations, you can't reproduce (naturally). but i could be way off on that. so...yah. uh....look over there! :dance:

Sitarro
02-14-2008, 04:16 PM
This is such bullshit, I have lived in the southernmost part of East Texas for 11 years. There are head shops, adult book stores(sex shops) all over the place. What exactly is it that hasn't been allowed, dildos for sale at WalMart? Houston has a huge section of town called Montrose, it is an older part of town that has been almost completely redone and is overwhelmingly populated by homosexuals, lesbians,and whatever else. There are numerous clubs, bars, restaurants, tatoo and piercing parlors that exclusively cater to homos, lesbians and whatever. In other words, Houston(the largest city in Texas) is exactly like every other major city I have ever been to. You can and have been able to get anything you need, Gabby/LiberalN, to make up for your partner's inability to handle the job, there haven't been any restrictions that I have seen. This story is bullshit.

LiberalNation
02-14-2008, 04:17 PM
The law may have not been enforced in the bigger towns/cities. Lots of old laws are still on the books but not enforced.

Monkeybone
02-14-2008, 04:18 PM
This is such bullshit, I have lived in the southernmost part of East Texas for 11 years. There are head shops, adult book stores(sex shops) all over the place. What exactly is it that hasn't been allowed, dildos for sale at WalMart? Houston has a huge section of town called Montrose, it is an older part of town that has been almost completely redone and is overwhelmingly populated by homosexuals, lesbians,and whatever else. There are numerous clubs, bars, restaurants, tatoo and piercing parlors that exclusively cater to homos, lesbians and whatever. In other words, Houston(the largest city in Texas) is exactly like every other major city I have ever been to. You can and have been able to get anything you need, Gabby/LiberalN, to make up for your partner's inability to handle the job, there haven't been any restrictions that I have seen. This story is bullshit.

i think that is the main issue here. we may need a psychologist for this. Gabby uou're too close to it apprently...conflict of interest sorta thing. :laugh2:

Monkeybone
02-14-2008, 04:19 PM
The law may have not been enforced in the bigger towns/cities. Lots of old laws are still on the books but not enforced.

yah, like getting a BJ in your car on sunday. i mean c'mon!

hjmick
02-14-2008, 04:24 PM
This is such bullshit, I have lived in the southernmost part of East Texas for 11 years. There are head shops, adult book stores(sex shops) all over the place. What exactly is it that hasn't been allowed, dildos for sale at WalMart? Houston has a huge section of town called Montrose, it is an older part of town that has been almost completely redone and is overwhelmingly populated by homosexuals, lesbians,and whatever else. There are numerous clubs, bars, restaurants, tatoo and piercing parlors that exclusively cater to homos, lesbians and whatever. In other words, Houston(the largest city in Texas) is exactly like every other major city I have ever been to. You can and have been able to get anything you need, Gabby/LiberalN, to make up for your partner's inability to handle the job, there haven't been any restrictions that I have seen. This story is bullshit.

Everyone knows that Houston is full of perverts.

I didn't realize that Montrose had experienced a revitalization, that's good to hear. Is the Westberry Square area still a cesspool? I lived in that general area when I was a kid. I was shocked to see how far it had fallen when I was there last.

Sitarro
02-14-2008, 05:05 PM
Everyone knows that Houston is full of perverts.

I didn't realize that Montrose had experienced a revitalization, that's good to hear. Is the Westberry Square area still a cesspool? I lived in that general area when I was a kid. I was shocked to see how far it had fallen when I was there last.

The strip with all of the clubs is still pretty sleazy and there are some less visible clusters of clubs interspersed in the neighborhoods. A lot of the older homes have been restored and updated or destroyed to make way for 3 story town homes. The real estate values around there are astronomical. They still have their PRIDE parades through there, my photography lab is in that area, Westheimer and Shepherd, and I have run into the insanity before. I'm not familiar with Westberry Square, I may know it but don't know the name.

I like the older architecture of the area, most of the homes that are worth restoring have been.

hjmick
02-14-2008, 05:12 PM
The strip with all of the clubs is still pretty sleazy and there are some less visible clusters of clubs interspersed in the neighborhoods. A lot of the older homes have been restored and updated or destroyed to make way for 3 story town homes. The real estate values around there are astronomical. They still have their PRIDE parades through there, my photography lab is in that area, Westheimer and Shepherd, and I have run into the insanity before. I'm not familiar with Westberry Square, I may know it but don't know the name.

I like the older architecture of the area, most of the homes that are worth restoring have been.

Ah, a fellow Houstonian...

We're not really off topic, we're talking about Texas, LOL.

Westberry is out around the Chimney Rock/W. Bellfort area.

Mr. P
02-14-2008, 05:30 PM
This is such bullshit, I have lived in the southernmost part of East Texas for 11 years. There are head shops, adult book stores(sex shops) all over the place. What exactly is it that hasn't been allowed, dildos for sale at WalMart? Houston has a huge section of town called Montrose, it is an older part of town that has been almost completely redone and is overwhelmingly populated by homosexuals, lesbians,and whatever else. There are numerous clubs, bars, restaurants, tatoo and piercing parlors that exclusively cater to homos, lesbians and whatever. In other words, Houston(the largest city in Texas) is exactly like every other major city I have ever been to. You can and have been able to get anything you need, Gabby/LiberalN, to make up for your partner's inability to handle the job, there haven't been any restrictions that I have seen. This story is bullshit.

Maybe it was the same as it was here in Georgia. Sex toys were illegal, so they called em Novelty items instead and sold them without any problem.

I think this ridiculous law has been changed here as well..not sure though.

Hagbard Celine
02-15-2008, 12:54 PM
Obviously logic is simply beyond you.

Somehow you liberals think government should interfere in every minor aspect of our life yet something as important as procreation is off limits.

And simply because it's a stupid law doesnt make it unconstitutional and I am freaking tired of seeing courts overturn laws on that basis when it's a legislative matter.

You're a psycho if you actually believe what you've written here.

gabosaurus
02-15-2008, 01:50 PM
So what is next? Will state government attempt to stop the sale of detachable shower heads? I used to LOVE those when I was younger.

nevadamedic
02-17-2008, 03:07 AM
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080214/ap_on_re_us/sex_toys_ban;_ylt=ApVRtO4O4D5oXbSfJ8YIhGlvzwcF

FORT WORTH, Texas - A federal appeals court has overturned a statute outlawing sex toy sales in Texas, one of the last states — all in the South — to retain such a ban.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Texas law making it illegal to sell or promote obscene devices, punishable by as many as two years in jail, violated the right to privacy guaranteed by the 14th Amendment.

Companies that own Dreamer's and Le Rouge Boutique, which sell the devices in its Austin stores, and the retail distributor Adam & Eve sued in federal court in Austin in 2004 over the constitutionality of the law. They appealed after a federal judge dismissed the suit and said the Constitution did not protect their right to publicly promote such devices.

In its decision Tuesday, the appeals court cited Lawrence and Garner v. Texas, the U.S. Supreme Court's 2003 opinion that struck down bans on consensual sex between same-sex couples.

"Just as in Lawrence, the state here wants to use its laws to enforce a public moral code by restricting private intimate conduct," the appeals judges wrote. "The case is not about public sex. It is not about controlling commerce in sex. It is about controlling what people do in the privacy of their own homes because the state is morally opposed to a certain type of consensual private intimate conduct. This is an insufficient justification after Lawrence."

The Texas attorney general's office, which represented the Travis County district attorney in the case, has not decided whether to appeal, said agency spokesman Tom Kelley.

Phil Harvey, president of Adam & Eve Inc., said the 5th Circuit Court's decision was a big step forward. He said his business plans to expand to sell in stores and at home parties, something company consultants had been fearful of doing because of the Texas law.

Sex Toys are for the people who don't know how to use the equipment that God gave them or decided to pick the wrong sex to use their God given equipment on.

nevadamedic
02-17-2008, 03:12 AM
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080214/ap_on_re_us/sex_toys_ban;_ylt=ApVRtO4O4D5oXbSfJ8YIhGlvzwcF

FORT WORTH, Texas - A federal appeals court has overturned a statute outlawing sex toy sales in Texas, one of the last states — all in the South — to retain such a ban.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Texas law making it illegal to sell or promote obscene devices, punishable by as many as two years in jail, violated the right to privacy guaranteed by the 14th Amendment.

Companies that own Dreamer's and Le Rouge Boutique, which sell the devices in its Austin stores, and the retail distributor Adam & Eve sued in federal court in Austin in 2004 over the constitutionality of the law. They appealed after a federal judge dismissed the suit and said the Constitution did not protect their right to publicly promote such devices.

In its decision Tuesday, the appeals court cited Lawrence and Garner v. Texas, the U.S. Supreme Court's 2003 opinion that struck down bans on consensual sex between same-sex couples.

"Just as in Lawrence, the state here wants to use its laws to enforce a public moral code by restricting private intimate conduct," the appeals judges wrote. "The case is not about public sex. It is not about controlling commerce in sex. It is about controlling what people do in the privacy of their own homes because the state is morally opposed to a certain type of consensual private intimate conduct. This is an insufficient justification after Lawrence."

The Texas attorney general's office, which represented the Travis County district attorney in the case, has not decided whether to appeal, said agency spokesman Tom Kelley.

Phil Harvey, president of Adam & Eve Inc., said the 5th Circuit Court's decision was a big step forward. He said his business plans to expand to sell in stores and at home parties, something company consultants had been fearful of doing because of the Texas law.


vibrators are NOT the only sex toys out there are they?

But my question for Avatar is how do sex toys actually stop procreation as he is concerned with....i don't think they would, even a vibrator...

however BC pills, Spermacides, and condoms, and vascectomies and tubal ligation too, all stop procreation, yet there are no laws on the books now to stop any of these things with our citizens....so, legally, how does one justify that the government should interfere with the sales of vibrators, and gels and other things?

And honestly, i can understand the point being made about procreation....not that i want to regulate it, but look what is happening in the EU with birthrates of their natural born citizens....

Something has to change with Children being ok only if you have one or two... type mentality... it is hard in today's times, with both parents working to make having lots of children the focus of the family unit i would imagine? There is so much more to what is going on with the population reduction taking place in the westernized world than vibrator sales that could be a thread in and of itself so i do not want to diminish the point that Avatar was trying to get across imo.

jd

The only problem I have with Condom's is that I can never find one big enough for me to use. They don't make them XXXXX-Large. :D

stephanie
02-17-2008, 03:50 AM
What's the breakdown estimate for these products in our landfills? I'm trying to go green... :laugh2:



the greenies don't care about landfills when it come to these things or when they pass out free rubbers(condoms and needles).....

gabosaurus
02-17-2008, 12:27 PM
Whatever you do Stephanie, don't allow Alaska to take away your sex toys...

Abbey Marie
02-17-2008, 12:32 PM
Whatever you do Stephanie, don't allow Alaska to take away your sex toys...

People are so ingenious, I'll bet they can always come up with some home-made ones in a pinch. :laugh2:

gabosaurus
02-17-2008, 12:33 PM
People are so ingenious, I'll bet they can always come up with some home-made ones in a pinch. :laugh2:

You have ideas? I have run out...

Abbey Marie
02-17-2008, 12:35 PM
You have ideas? I have run out...

Nah, I'm not that creative. :laugh2:

Mr. P
02-17-2008, 01:09 PM
I like watching women choose that "perfect'' cucumber in the grocery store. :lol:

gabosaurus
02-17-2008, 08:16 PM
I like watching women choose that "perfect'' cucumber in the grocery store. :lol:

One bit of advice: Don't keep it in the fridge first. :)

Dilloduck
02-17-2008, 08:31 PM
One bit of advice: Don't keep it in the fridge first. :)

There's a big meat recall ---you might wanna stock up. :laugh2:

gabosaurus
02-18-2008, 12:55 AM
As a blonde, I applaud myself for reading three pages of a thread about sex toys and not once referring to the above poster as "Dildoduck"

Monkeybone
02-18-2008, 09:46 AM
As a blonde, I applaud myself for reading three pages of a thread about sex toys and not once referring to the above poster as "Dildoduck"

damnit gabs...now i can't look at his Dillo's name without laughing to myself anymore

Dilloduck
02-18-2008, 06:17 PM
damnit gabs...now i can't look at his Dillo's name without laughing to myself anymore

Hey--there ain't nothing funny about a dildo !!!!!:laugh2: