New law will ban sex toys from Walmart, Target: Texas rep's clampdown on ‘sexually-oriented businesses’

Newly-elected Texas rep. Hillary Hickland's bill seeks to overturn a previous “unconstitutional” ruling related to sex toy sales.

A newly-elected Texas legislator is going all out to unleash a clampdown on “sexually-oriented businesses,” such as sex shops and strip clubs. Hillary Hickland, elected in November to represent the Lone Star state’s District 55, pre-filed a move to restrict the “sale of obscene devices.” Her new legislation, Bill HB 1549, goes against a previous “unconstitutional” law that aimed to curb sex toys’ sales to six items at a time. According to The US Sun, her bill, once written into statute, will limit sales of devices like vibrators while simultaneously targeting erotic businesses.

Newly-elected Texas rep. Hillary Hickland's Bill HB 1549 intends to hit erotic businesses hard and restrict the "sale of obscene devices." (Photo credit: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg)

Why is the Texas rep keen on implementing the sex toy ban?

This move to prevent children from being exposed to such things would likely make it harder to buy sex toys at flagship retail stores, including CVS, Walmart and Target, in Texas. Explaining why the potential ban on sex toys in “family-friendly stores” was a need of the hour, Hickland said, "Children have a right to grow up without being subjected to explicit material that they cannot fully understand and that could harm their development.”

She continued, “Allowing sexually explicit items in family-friendly stores takes away that right and places an undue burden on parents to guard their kids against inappropriate exposure in spaces meant for basic necessities like food and toiletries.”

Lone Star State's legal history with sales of sex toys

Once Hickland’s proposal passes, it will mirror a 1973 Texas law banning the sale of such explicit items throughout the state. In 2003, the updated legislation slashed the sale ban. However, it was still a crime to own six or more devices. Finally, in 2008, the law retracted after being branded unconstitutional.

The ban will be implemented immediately if passed with a two-thirds majority of votes. On the contrary, if it received less than a “super majority,” the law will go into effect on September 1, 2025, endangering stores selling sex toys with fines of up to $5,000 for each violation.

Critics emerge

Other officials haven’t exactly showered Hickland with support. Texas Senator Nathan Johnson, per the Dallas Observer, slammed the potential law as “such a grotesque display of misplaced priorities that it is disheartening."

He added, “I hope we get over this stuff real fast because the voters, including Republican primary voters, Democratic primary voters, every voter, really need us to perform our job.”

Additionally, even newly-elected Republican District Attorney Sarah Stogner was critical of the idea on social media. Responding to a tweet from Hickland, she wrote on X, “I see you're still obsessed with dildos. Perhaps you should buy one and try it. Might make you less uptight.”