Cocks v. Glocks v. NERFs - Shootout at University of Texas at Austin

WASHINGTON - Oct. 19, 2015 - PRLog -- Cocks v. Glocks v. NERFs - Shootout at UT-Austin
General Counsel Sharphorn May Have to Return to Law School

WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 19, 2015):  Cocks (in the form of dildos) will soon face off against Glocks (and other concealed handguns) and NERF guns (shooting foam) at the University of Texas at Austin.

        But Vice Chancellor and General Counsel Daniel Sharphorn's indecision about whether to arrest or punish the women packing dildos - to protest the men packing heat under a new campus carry law - suggests he may have to go back to law school, says public interest law professor John Banzhaf, who helped successfully defend a student threatened with expulsion from GWU for displaying a swastika.

        Sharphorn may also face a more difficult problem regarding NERF guns which shoot harmless foam pellets, since the university's rules currently prohibit such "weapons."  Is he really going to expel a student for possessing a child's toy capable of shooting a few foam pellets while nevertheless permitting Texas six shooters, and even Glocks capable of discharging 15 high powered explosive rounds, asks Banzhaf.

        A legal website, noting a Texas law [§ 43.21(a)(7)] which supposedly prohibits the display of  "obscene devices" including dildos, reports that Sharphorn may be seriously considering arresting or at least punishing students who display dildos as part of a lawful protest against a new law permitting college students to carry firearms; a peaceful protest they have labeled “Cocks Not Glocks” or #cocksnotglocks.

        Citing Sharphorn’s "dilemma," Law.com reports: "In an interview Friday Sharphorn, a former Judge Advocate General at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, said he can’t speculate on how he will handle the protest. 'We do try to tolerate a good deal of free speech on campus,' he added.”

        But if the campus tolerates a "good deal of free speech," or even accords students only the bare minimum required by the First Amendment, he should not face any "dilemma" because displaying dildos as part of a lawful protest is very clearly free speech protected by the U.S. Constitution, notes Banzhaf.

        Moreover, free speech is something to be revered, not just "tolerated," especially at a university, says Banzhaf, who wonders why professors at the Law School seem to be standing idly by.  If those who teach Constitutional Law don’t see a clear threat to free speech and academic freedom and speak out, it’s no wonder that the Chancellor is confused, and free speech is just “tolerated” at UT-Austin.

        Perhaps Sharphorn also failed to note that a federal appeals court struck down that “obscene devices” statute on constitutional grounds.  It only takes a few seconds, and a few keystrokes on a computer, to determine whether a statute has been overturned or is still valid, notes attorney Banzhaf.

        But Sharphorn may face another “dilemma.”  The university's Residence Hall Handbook prohibits NERF guns: "Propelling devices, such as rockets, catapults, slingshots, Nerf-type guns or any homemade device for the purpose of launching an object, are prohibited," it says.

        So the learned Vice Chancellor may be in the odd position of having to expel a student for having a simple NERF gun which shoots harmless pieces of foam while defending the rights of other students to carry Glocks, Colts, Rugers, etc. capable of a mass shooting of students and faculty, says Banzhaf.

        If high powered handguns are permitted while foam-shooting NERF guns are not, perhaps, as Charles Dickens suggested,  “If the law supposes that, the law is a ass—a idiot.”

        And no doubt some creative law student will try to argue that the Second Amendment’s guarantee of the right “to keep and bear arms” extends not only to Glocks, but also to NERF guns, suggests Banzhaf, perhaps somewhat tongue in cheek.

JOHN F. BANZHAF III, B.S.E.E., J.D., Sc.D.
Professor of Public Interest Law
George Washington University Law School,
FAMRI Dr. William Cahan Distinguished Professor,
Fellow, World Technology Network,
Founder, Action on Smoking and Health (ASH)
2000 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20052, USA
(202) 994-7229 // (703) 527-8418
http://banzhaf.net/ @profbanzhaf