Conservative activists across the state are expressing concerns over the enforcement of Texas’ obscenity laws.
State Republican Executive Committeewoman Christin Bentley is leading the charge.
Bentley shared a photo to X of a CVS store in Tyler selling an array of sex toys. The items are packaged in colorful boxes with emojis, which Bentley noted could appeal to children.
Your local household retailer is now in the business of selling sex toys, sometimes on the same aisle as kids toothbrushes!
Texas obscene device law is completely outdated and isn’t enforced.
The adult entertainment industry has responded accordingly, with sex toys sold in… pic.twitter.com/jbfi4JCo2v
— Christin Bentley SD-1 SREC (@Bentley4Texas) October 2, 2024
According to the Texas Penal Code, “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.”
“The law is outdated and no longer enforced, which is why we see sex toys on the aisles of family-friendly retailers like Target, Walmart, CVS, and Walgreens where children are present as both consumers and employees,” Bentley told Texas Scorecard.
One of the Republican Party of Texas’ priorities for the 2025 legislative session is to “Stop Sexualizing Texas Kids,” which includes closing loopholes that allow minors to be exposed to obscene material.
The RPT suggests striking down sections 43.24 and 43.25 of the Texas Penal Code as they make exemptions for people who distribute obscene material for the sake of a “scientific, educational, governmental, or other similar justification.”
Harmful material is currently defined by the Texas Penal Code as “appealing to the prurient interest of a minor, in sex, nudity, or excretion,” “patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community as a whole with respect to what is suitable for minors,” and “utterly without redeeming social value for minors.”
“While we recognize that we live in a culture where these devices are no longer obscene to adults, they are still obscene to children,” Bentley said. “Obscenity is variable. What is obscene to a child may not be obscene to an adult. Pornography is not prohibited but regulated for that reason. We want to see harmful devices regulated in a similar way to harmful materials, specifically harmful devices should not be sold, distributed, or displayed in the presence of minors.”
Updating obscenity laws may also affect libraries that house explicit books targeted toward children.
“All of our statutes related to indecency depend on the community maintaining reasonable standards of common decency with regard to children,” Bentley explained. “In other words, any material or device is no longer considered harmful to minors when it fails to offend the prevailing standards the community has for its children.”
“The same movement of parents and grandparents that support legislation to protect children from filthy books in schools also support legislation that protects children from harmful materials and devices in their communities and on the internet,” Bentley said.
The 89th Legislative Session will begin on January 14.
