I got pulled over in west Texas so they could look inside my car
Actually, I'm not sure where Longview/White Oak are. Ain't never been to Texas, and although I love Dru like a stepsister I got no plans to visit any time soon.
11-21, local: Police find 17 sex toys in local woman's car during DUI traffic stopA Longview woman who sells sex toys has been charged with felony obscenity after White Oak police found some of her wares in her car during a traffic stop
The arrest report describes the 17 items as "obscene materials and obscene devices," but Police Chief Charlie Smith said the items were mostly lotions and objects defined in a dictionary as having the shape and often the appearance of the male genitalia, used in sexual stimulation.
Only saw the story this morning, in the blogdex feed in Straw. Many thanks to Team Murder for pointing the program out, and to Michelle for adding a syndicate link when I whined about it.
The sources page on blogdex shows this was actually discussed on MetaFilter yesterday. Haven't really been there since I moved.
Skimming the comments now, I see that Longview is in East Texas. But any time's the right time for Ani, so the title stays. Management apologizes for any confusion.
Comments
Does this mean I have to clean out my car?
Posted by: drublood | November 23, 2002 8:55 AM
You are most welcome.
Posted by: Michelle | November 23, 2002 12:38 PM
wait. dildos and lotions are illegal in Texas? what is this world coming to?
Posted by: kd | November 23, 2002 1:27 PM
Not per se. It's effectively about sales, promotion and distribution, similar to the law in Alabama in '98 that was recently struck down. But it may as well be illegal outright, that given.
Hmmm. Now, last time with Alabama, I drummed up a campaign for everyone to send dildos and vibrators to the senator. Might be even more fun in Texas. I have a few extra laying around here somewhere...
Posted by: Heather | November 23, 2002 2:16 PM
Speaking as another actual Texan, I think the sending of sex toys to senior state officials could only improve things. $DEITY knows that most of them need to loosen up a lot.
The law assumes that anyone who has more than six is planning to sell or promote. That's not to say that you can't find plenty of places that sell assorted sex toys in Houston and Austin (and I hear Dallas, too, but I can't personally vouch for that). Some places use different names for sex toys, e.g., they sell "personal massagers", not vibrators, just like places sell "water pipes" and not bongs. And I hear that one place in Austin sells latex models of the male anatomy "for educational purposes only".
Basically it's a harrassment law, like the one that says you have to have a front license plate. If they want to pull you in for something, it's another potential excuse. I wish that the sunset provisions that apply to some Texas laws applied to this one.
Posted by: Ginger | November 23, 2002 3:33 PM
What if you can prove that you absolutely need 15 dildos? Can you get by with a doctor's note?
Posted by: Wyyrd | November 26, 2002 3:47 PM
I would like to see that doctor's note. And I wonder... what happens if you get pulled over after buying that economy-sized pack of 42 condoms?
"Hi, Officer. Trojan?"
If I don't get out of the South soon, I'm going to lose it.
Posted by: Monkey! | November 26, 2002 8:46 PM
being as that i live in longview, i'm getting a kick out of our "finest" getting laughed at by a whole mess of people on the internet. next time i get pulled over i'll be sure to mention that to them.
now i consider myself lucky that i didnt get arrested when a state trooper pulled me over and for no good reason searched my car while i had an opened box of tampons in my back seat.
whats a nubian? bitch, you almost made me laugh....
Posted by: kandi | November 30, 2003 5:18 AM