Texas college students pack sex toys as part of gun protest

To protest a law that makes the carrying of concealed handguns legal in college classrooms, students at the University of Texas openly displayed sex toys, an act considered illegal under local indecency laws.

“We are fighting absurdity with absurdity,” said Jessica Jin, leader of the protest called ‘Cocks Not Glocks: Campus (Dildo) Carry’, where hundreds of sex toys were given away at a rally that coincided with a return to classes at the university’s flagship campus.

“Texas has decided it is not all obnoxious or illegal to allow deadly concealed weapons on campus. But walking around with a dildo could land you in trouble,” said Ms Jin.

On August 1, a so-called ‘campus carry’ law backed by the state’s Republican leaders went into effect that allows concealed handgun licence holders aged 21 and older to bring handguns into classrooms and other university facilities.

The lawmakers said campus carry protects the rights of gun owners and could prevent a mass shooting on campus.

Hundreds of university faculty and staff lobbied to block campus carry, arguing the combination of youth, academic stress, alcohol, and firearms could be deadly.

A US district judge denied a motion from three University of Texas professors who wanted to ban guns in their classroom after the state gave some students that right under the law.

Protests organisers shouting slogans such as “if you are packing heat, we are packing meat” handed out hundreds of sex toys, many donated by area stores.