Jessica Jin, a University of Texas student with the clarity of mind and purpose that only a college student could possess, thinks it is just wrong that in 2016 she will be able to carry a handgun to class but will have to leave her dildo back at the dorm.
So she’s organizing a protest for August 2016 during which students can show they share her belief by strapping a dildo to their book bags, their belts, wherever they chose, and brazenly carrying their sex toys into class, sitting beside students who may be packing Glocks.
“The State of Texas has decided that it is not at all obnoxious to allow deadly concealed weapons in classrooms, however it DOES have strict rules about free sexual expression, to protect your innocence,” Jin wrote on her group’s Facebook page. “You would receive a citation for taking a DILDO to class before you would get in trouble for taking a gun to class. Heaven forbid the penis.”
In fact, the Campus (Dildo) Carry Facebook page Jessica is using to organize this protest is also using the hashtag #CocksNotGlocks as a rallying cry.
University of Texas students in Austin who want to be able to carry a Glock, or whichever handgun they choose, want it known they support Jin’s dildo protest.
Students for Concealed Carry, which has waged court battles for the right to wear empty holsters on college campuses, believes that the University of Texas’s obscenity policy should not be used to stop anti-campus carry protesters from openly carrying dildos on campus.
Students for Concealed Carry bills itself as a national, nonpartisan organization that campaigns for “campus carry” legislation similar to what has been approved in Texas.
“If carrying a phallus to class is how you want to make your point, that is an exercise of First Amendment rights, and a public college has no right to impede it,” said Michael Newbern, the assistant director of public relations for Students for Concealed Carry.
However, he also pointed out SCC does recommend that any dildos carried on campus be used only in constitutionally protected expressions of free speech.
Newborn cautioned the #CocksNotGlocks crowd using a dildo as a defensive weapon could classify it as a “club,” which, under Texas law, is illegal to carry in public and constitutes a felony if carried in campus buildings.
Gov. Greg Abbott (R-Texas) signed the “open carry” and “campus carry” handgun legislation in June.
Both bills implement proposals in the governor’s Bicentennial Blueprint. HB 910, known as “open carry,” authorizes individuals with a license to carry a holstered handgun openly in all locations that allow the licensed carrying of a concealed handgun. SB 11, known as “campus carry,” authorizes individuals with a license to carry a concealed handgun on campuses of public institutions of higher education.
“Today I am proud to expand liberty in the Lone Star State,” said Gov. Abbott. “By signing these bills into law, Texans can be assured that their Second Amendment rights will be stronger and more secure than ever before.”
But Jessica Jin’s protest isn’t the only action on the UT campus against Texas’ open carry gun law that takes effect when the calendar turns 2016.
Daniel Hamermesh has resigned from his position as professor emeritus of economics at the University of Texas because he’s afraid at least some of his students will be coming into class heavy next year.
“The risk that a disgruntled student might bring a gun into the classroom and start shooting at me has been substantially enhanced by the concealed carry law,” Hamermesh wrote in a letter to UT President Greg Fenves.
However, as you might expect, not all Texans share Jin’s and Hamermesh’s fears and displeasure with the new open carry law.
The owners of many North Texas gun ranges told NBC 5 TV in Dallas-Fort Worth they have doubled their handgun education courses to handle an expected increase in enrollment.
David Prince, the owner of the Eagle Gun Range, said he encourages customers who want to carry a handgun wherever they go to sign up for the classes.
“It is a big change to openly carry,” Prince said. “You don’t want to make a mistake,”
However, the gun safety classes and anti-gun protests may be a waste of time. In fact, Professor Hamermesh might want to reconsider his plan to leave the University of Texas.
State Sen. John Whitmire, the chairman of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee, told News Radio WAOI some of his colleagues are having second thoughts about the wisdom of “open carry” and especially “campus carry” following the Oregon community college shootings in early October.
He believes the legislature will reconsider the legislation.
“I think the citizens of Texas who are very pro gun, by the way, very Second Amendment rights, are really going to think that we really didn’t think that one out,” he said.
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