Ted Cruz has enforced more rules on dildos than assault rifles

In Texas, it is illegal to own more than six dildos, but you can carry a gun in public with no training on how to use it and people can’t make it make sense.

In the aftermath of the horrifying elementary school shooting in the state that left 21 people dead, people around the world are asking for gun laws in the state and across the country to be tightened.

As per the Washington Post, last year Texas actually loosened its gun laws last year by passing “permitless carry”, allowing anyone in the state to carry a gun in public without having had any formal training or background check.

The rule allows anyone over the age of 21 to carry a handgun without the need for a background check or acquiring a license – this usually involves being fingerprinted, doing four to six hours of training, completing an exam and doing a proficiency test, says Texas Tribune.

After he signed off on the bill, Texas 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.”

Given the tragedy we saw unfold at Robb Elementary School on Tuesday 24 May, people are outraged at there are more restrictive laws on sex toys than there are on potentially lethal guns.

Sign up to our new free Indy100 weekly newsletter

While it doesn’t specifically say the word dildos, Section 43.23 of the Texas penal code regulates the possession of what it calls “obscene devices”.

One point states: “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.”

In 2007, Texas senator Ted Cruz, who at the time was solicitor general of the state, took part in a federal case to federal court case to maintain Texas’s ban on the sale of sex toys.

One part of the brief filed read: “There is no substantive-due-process right to stimulate one’s genitals for non-medical purposes unrelated to procreation or outside of an interpersonal relationship.”

The statute was overturned in 2008 allowing the sale of sex toys in the state, but there still remains more regulation on dildos than there is on handguns.

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.