The “Cocks Not Glocks: Campus (DILDO) Carry” protest was meant to highlight the absurdity of the fact that, under recently-passed laws, students are allowed to carry guns to class, but can be cited for carrying a sex toy.
— Lassi Papi (@HelloImSyed) August 24, 2016
"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. You would receive a citation for taking a DILDO to class before you would get in trouble for taking a gun to class,” the Cocks Not Glocks Facebook event page notes. "Heaven forbid the penis."
In the days leading up to protest, organizers handed out over 4,000 dildos provided by local sponsors, sex shops, artists, and adult film companies. Over 10,000 people had RSVPed to the event on Facebook.
— Matt Valentine (@germanglasseye) August 23, 2016
The university promised not to interfere with the protest, as it is covered under the student’s right to freedom of expression, and appears that they have been as good as their word.
— Jackson Foltz (@The42ndComedian) August 24, 2016
Protesters not only strapped on dildos, they also carried signs with slogans such as “take it and come,” a play on the pro-gun slogan “come and take it,” “class of twenty-seven PEEN,” and “time to be hard-on gun culture.
— ingrid (@_ingrrrid) August 24, 2016
The bill being protested, Senate Bill 11, took effect August 1, ahead of the new school year. It not only allows students to legally carry weapons into classrooms, but also prevents schools in some areas from prohibiting the action.
Three professors had requested an injunction against the concealed carry law on Monday, claiming that the wording is too vague, violates freedoms, and endangers people in classrooms. The judge did not agree.
"The court has searched the jurisprudence of this country from the ratification of the Constitution forward and has found no precedent for plaintiffs' proposition that there is a right of academic freedom so broad that it allows them such autonomous control of their classrooms both physically and academically that their concerns override decisions of the legislature and the governing body of the institution that employs them. Their First Amendment claim is and must be bottomed on their right to speak and teach freely. Neither the Campus Carry Law nor the Campus Carry Policy forbids them from doing so,” US District Judge Lee Yeakel wrote in the 11-page order.
Many of the activists have vowed to zip-tie the phallic toys to their backpacks until the law is repealed. This protest may be going on for a while.
