Some lawmakers aimed to make it harder to purchase sex toys. In the same vein, a couple of lawmakers tried to keep poontang pontification out of public schools by concreting opt-in sex education. Other lawmakers tried to finally take antiquated sodomy laws off the books, and a few worked to keep the few remaining forms of reproductive healthcare in Texas available by law.
None of the bills passed.
So, sex under the eyes of Big Tex is not going to look much different for the next two years, at least. Here’s how every sexy bill fared:
The Texas Toy Battle of 2025
Sex sells. That’s why big box grocery stores are taking a piece of the pie. Yes, you can buy grapes and a vibrator in the same shopping trip. Most of the toys are in subtle packaging in a small display in the aisle with menstrual and contraceptive products, so you may not have even known they were there. Or you did, and if so, we’re not judging. But Rep. Hillary Hickland, a freshman Republican from Taylor, thinks the scandalous section of the stores exposes young children to “obscenity.” Her bill, House Bill 1549, would have banned the sale of self-pleasure toys in stores that are not explicitly sex shops.
“Children have the right to grow up free from premature exposure to explicit materials, and as lawmakers, it’s our responsibility to uphold that right,” Hickland wrote in an email to the Observer in 2024.
Hickland wasn’t the only politician trying to keep Texans from having a little “me time.” Her colleague, the soon-to-be single, Sen. Angela Paxton, wife of Attorney General Ken Paxton, who recently filed for divorce, also filed a bill that would require online sex toy shoppers to upload their government-issued identification cards, proving they were above the age of 18.
After Ken Paxton chased age verification for pornography, experts warned of the implications of tracking someone’s sexual content preferences with their legal identification, and the same can be said for sex toys.
“[This] chips away at bodily autonomy and fuels a culture of shame, particularly for women and marginalized folks who have historically been punished for claiming their own pleasure,” said Dr. Shamyra Howard, a licensed clinical social worker and sex educator for We-Vibe, a couples’ sexual wellness brand. “Sex toys are not the problem. Shame is. And this kind of ID requirement only deepens that shame while doing nothing to promote real public health or safety.”
Both bills died in committee.
Sodomy Stays in the Texas Penal Code, But Progress?
Texas’ current sodomy law was passed in 1973, prohibiting participation in certain sexual acts with individuals of the same sex. It was rarely, but not never, enforced. The law was finally declared unconstitutional in the Supreme Court’s Lawrence v. Texas 2003 decision, and even though it is unenforceable, it has never been removed from the Texas Penal Code. There have been several attempts to have the law removed from the state’s code of criminal offenses. The latest came from Dallas Rep. Venton Jones, one of the first gay Black House members.
“I'm asking you to vote for a law that upholds the principles that Texans should have the freedom and ability to make their own private decisions without unwarranted government interference,” Jones said on the House floor.
The bill passed the House but was never read on the Senate floor.
Opt-In Sex Education
In 2024, a policy making sex education in public Texas schools an "opt-in" class expired. Previously, parents had to submit written permission for their children to learn about the birds and bees. When that deal expired, sex education became automatic, and parents would have to provide written clarification that they did not want their child to receive a sex education curriculum as part of their health courses. A bill filed this session by a Central Texas Republican would have made sex education opt-in forever.
But the bill failed to pass the committee. Kids these days aren’t rolling condoms on bananas, but at least they’ll know the difference between STDs and STIs.
The Morning After
Ever since the Texas Heartbeat Act placed a near-total ban on abortion in the state, Republicans have been gunning for any pregnancy preventers, including the abortion pill, oral daily contraceptives and the morning after pill, the latter of which was the target of one lawmaker who filed a bill that would give pharmacists the right to refuse to dispense emergency contraceptives, like Plan B. Another lawmaker filed a bill that would prohibit the government from impeding the procurement or education related to the pill. “To have such a strict abortion ban is detrimental to the overall health care for a lot of women,” Rep. Donna Howard, who filed the contraception protection bill, said to KENS 5. “We want to make sure that Texas women have what they need to get the health care they need so that not only they can be healthy, but their babies can be healthy, their families can be healthy.”
Both bills died in committee.
