The Virginian-Pilot
©
RICHMOND
Objects that resemble human genitalia would be banned from display on vehicles, under a bill proposed Tuesday by Del. Lionell Spruill Sr.
The accessories, sometimes called "bumper nuts," often are found on the back of pickups.
"They're offensive to some folks," said Spruill, a Chesapeake Democrat. "It's OK to express yourself, but citizens have the right not to be subjected to something vulgar."
Spruill said a Chesapeake resident called last week to complain after the man's 6-year-old daughter saw one of the objects on a truck and asked what it was.
"What about the kids?" Spruill asked. "What kind of message are we sending in Virginia?"
His bill, HB1452, would make display of the accessories a Class 4 misdemeanor with fines of up to $250.
"I think it's quite stupid," said Rob Hearns, owner of Pungo Tire and Off Road in Virginia Beach, which sells the products. "They're very popular, and they do sell."
Spruill said he became concerned when he learned that the truck accessories have gotten larger as their popularity has increased.
"How big are they going to go?" he said. "When will it stop?"
John Saller, owner of bullsballs.com, laughed off Spruill's effort during a telephone interview.
"Sounds like he has a lot of time on his hands," said Saller, an Arizona resident who said he created a mold to make the plastic ornaments eight or nine years ago.
He said he sold several hundred thousand last year, ranging in size from 2-1/2 to 10 inches.
"Most blogs seem to think people put these things on to increase their masculinity or that they have other shortcomings, if you will," Saller said, dismissing that theory. "It's a novelty. It's funny. It doesn't have anything to do with being macho."
"The serious response to this is that if these objects represent an idea, then they are protected by the First Amendment," said Kent Willis, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia "even if most people think they are vulgar or lewd."
Aaron Applegate, (757) 222-5122, aaron.applegate@pilotonline.com
Full text of the bill:
HOUSE BILL NO. 1452
Offered January 15, 2008
A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Article 10 of Chapter 10 of Title 46.2 a section numbered 46.2-1088.7, relating to display on or equipping of motor vehicles with objects resembling human genitalia.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That the Code of Virginia is amended by adding in Article 10 of Chapter 10 of Title 46.2 a section numbered 46.2-1088.7 as follows:
§ 46.2-1088.7. Display on and equipping of motor vehicles with objects or devices representing or resembling human genitalia.
No person shall display upon or equip any motor vehicle with any object or device that depicts, represents, or resembles human genitalia, regardless of size or scale.
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Isn't Virginia in America?! (Part 1of 2)
Is this really what we're arguing about?! All the simple-minded, ignorant, Unamerican people with comments about banning bumper nuts need to reread the Constitution or move to another country! Ever heard of FREEDOM of speech? Should we ban commercials about genital herpes, condoms, Viagra, or other contraceptives if kids are going to ask about them and their parents are too ignorant, close-minded, or sheltered to tell them the truth? Or if the parents think the child is too young, simply tell them that they'll know someday? Are we going to ban bikinis, Speedos, cursing, kissing, and jokes because a child might ask about it?
low class
I applaud Del. Spruill for addressing this issue. If it were a minor issue, there would not be so much media coverage about the subject.
I find it idiotic that people are up in arms to defend their right to perpetuate the low-class-virginia-hick perception by displaying human 'balls' off their trucks. Aside from screaming "I am a man who never gets laid and needs attention" these pitiful ornaments are designed to be distracting and as such could pose a danger to other drivers. If you want to have human 'nuts' on display, get them printed on a t-shirt that you wear or get a tattoo or something that doesn't hang off your car.
Nothing says low-class, like plastic nuts.
Either Del. Lionel Spruill
Either Del. Lionel Spruill has never been to a farm, or he is horribly deformed as the popular "truck nuts" are molded from bovine (cow) anatomy, not human anatomy. If this is not the case, then obviously he is just simply stupid as there is no universe in which these "truck nuts" could be mistaken as human anatomy. This makes his bill useless as it contains the qualifier "human anatomy" rendering enforcement impossible except in the case of someone attaching a pair of plastic boobs to their car. If this is all they have to do in Richmond, I'd be happy to send them a list of priorities for the commonwealth that NEED their attention.
First it was the nuts, now it's the bags!
Has anyone else heard that Fred Quayle is sponsoring a bill that would make it illegal for stores to use plastic bags that aren't "sturdy" enough? I am serious! His bill says they have to be at least 2.25ml thick and have handles! I guess the bag holding his take-out wasn't sturdy enough and his dinner hit the ground and now he's offended! What is going through the minds of these lawmakers? Stop worrying about nuts and bags and fix our roads! Increase the pay of our public safety and teachers! Do something worthwhile with our tax dollars instead of worrying about frivolous crap!
Nutz
I believe that "our children" are smarter than we adults give them credit for. I fail to see that they would be offended by these as most of them are tuned into MTV, and buy music that is far more vulgar, seductive, and offensive than seeing fake nuts hanging from a trailer hitch of a pickup truck. There certainly hasn't been a profound movement by the legislature to censor this stuff. As for the adults, you don't have the right not to be offended. You can't legislate taste. If vulgar music and seductive dress (see Britney Spears) are considered "artistic expression" then the display of fake testicles on the trailer hitch should fit in the same category.
I think this is a waste of time and I anticipate that the legislature will have the testicular fortitude to implement its casteration and remove this bill from consideration.
The Law of Unintended Consequences will cause
more of these things than ever to be purchased and displayed just because of the hoopla raised over banning them.
Where do we draw the line?
Someone commented on the radio this morning "would they let you put a penis on the back of the truck? Why are 'nutz' ok? Why do they get a pass? Why not just go all the way? Would that be acceptable to everyone here defending them? I'm shocked that so many of you are ok with this really.
Someone else said if you want to look at them hang them IN your truck. Leave the rest of us out of it!
Mental and emotional health
If you are embarrassed to answer your six year old, who sees a representation of something on his own body, then I respectfully suggest you do both of you a favor and get some counseling. One of the worst kinds of child abuse is to make your child ashamed of his/her own very nature and being. Or to put it another way "If God meant for us to be seen naked, we would have been born that way!"
citizens ask yourselves....
do we have a budget for 2009? nope
have we addressed the ridiculuous "abusive driver fees" that do not punish the true criminals.... nope
will the general assembly end up having to work past this session just to squeak in a budget that is inneffective and a mess like they seem to do every year at the great expense of you and i.....probably
i'm glad our "representatives" have all this free time to worry about NUTS.
stop wasting my time and money! leave my nuts alone!
Give Me A Break
What happened to the bill concerning baggy jeans that would prohibit constituents from wearing jeans so low it exposed their underwear or worse? If that bill didn't get passed, this one shouldn't either. I'm tired of being exposed to young men's undergarments every time I step into the public. That happens all day, everyday, from every corner of of Virginia; whereas this TruckNutz ordeal is minuscule in comparison.