Texas doesn't ban sex toys per se, it just bans the "promotion" (i.e., sale or advertising) of "an obscene device", which is defined as something, and I quote, "designed or marketed as useful primarily for the stimulation of human genital organs". Most sex shops in Texas (and there are no shortage of them) avoid trouble by not describing exactly what their wares can be used for, or how, by not carrying devices that are "too realistic", and by labeling the items "novelties".
There's also a lot of room for loopholes in clause 43.23(g) of the statute: " It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this section that the person who possesses or promotes material or a device proscribed by this section does so for a bona fide medical, psychiatric, judicial, legislative, or law enforcement purpose."
Related stories (and ya gotta love the headline on the first one):
Is That a Perfectly Legal, Anatomically Correct Condom Education Model, or Are You Just Happy to See Me?Note that in the second story, what really got her in trouble was not selling the items, but instead it was describing what they were for and how they were used, thus making it clear what the "devices" were "primarily" for, which is they key phrase in the law. As BeAnn Sisemore, the Texas mom's lawyer, points out, "This law is about how you represent what the product is for. I can have the most obnoxious item in the world, and as long as I call it a 'novelty,' I can sell it all day long. If I educate you on how to use it, it's illegal."
Eight months later, after putting the Texas mom and her family through legal and financial hell, and driving them into bankruptcy, the town dropped the charges, officially stating that they didn't want to "waste city resources", but the real reasons likely involved the massive amount of national (and international) derision and scorn they were receiving, and that it came out that the "investigation" was instigated by a couple of local folks with petty personal grudges against the mom, who were trying to make trouble for her.
How many times do I have to tell everyone? It's a neck massager!
"Note that in the second story, what really got her in trouble was not selling the items, but instead it was describing what they were for and how they were used, thus making it clear what the "devices" were "primarily" for, which is they key phrase in the law."
Which makes perfect sense. You know if you don't tell a woman how to use a dildo or vibrator, then she'll never know what they're for and she'll never be led down the path to immoral orgasms. It's the same principle as sex education for teenagers -- don't tell them about sex and they won't have any.