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Beginning Aug. 1, 2016, the “campus carry” law, signed last June by Texas governor Greg Abbott, will allow license holders to carry a concealed handgun on public college campuses. The law has been the root of some heated controversy amid the existing debate over gun laws in America.
However, opposition to this law took form in more than just passionate debate. Apparently, the new face of opposition is a dildo.
#Cocksnotglocks, a trending hashtag, has gone viral on social media in the last few weeks as students at the University of Texas in Austin protest new concealed carry handgun laws, which apply to public colleges and universities. In protest, these students plan to pack their own heat once the law takes affect.
Students wanted to bring attention to just how ridiculous the new policy is that would allow students to bring a gun into the classroom, but would restrict them from bringing a dildo.
“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,” the Campus Dildo Carry Facebook event page reads. “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.”
And the event page tells the truth. UT’s obscenity policy states, “No person or organization will distribute or display on the campus any writing or visual image, or engage in any public performance, that is obscene … as defined in Texas Penal Code, Section 43.21 or successor provisions.”
The protest mainly shows if individuals feel uncomfortable with students walking around with a piece of plastic in their bag, then they might feel even more uncomfortable when students can walk around campus with an actual weapon.
Sure, it’s a bawdy, over-the-top way of getting a point across, but until now, few were talking about this new law. So far, this protest has garnered national attention as a trending topic on Twitter, from national news sites and even to comedians on late-night talk shows with thousands of students at UT in support.
As ridiculous as it may sound, #CocksNotGlocks might just be the first shot, so to speak, from students to challenge this new law. It has the potential to make a difference, as long as the protest doesn’t stop here.
Dildos are only a starting point, not a garish ending point. This protest will only be effective if students use the momentum and attention garnered to actually make a difference to change the policy they disagree with.
Carrying around a dildo just for show obviously won’t do anything to effect change. But by using this hilarious and outrageous protest as a platform, it’s definitely got the conversation going, and students in opposition now have a voice. Whether or not college campuses should allow guns, most can agree the methodology of this campaign has been successful. Heads were turned, the cause was called to attention, and the controversy just got harder.
