Adults in Texas no longer have to beat around the bush about what they call personal devices since a federal appeals court yesterday overturned one of the most arcane laws still on the books infringing on personal liberties. Before the ruling, devices could be sold but vendors were restricted as to descriptions and possible uses and they couldn't be sold specifically as sexual aids.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Texas law making it illegal to sell or promote obscene devices, punishable by as many as two years in jail, violated the right to privacy guaranteed by the 14th Amendment.

The court relied on the 2003 Summers decision that struck down sodomy laws and set a new precedent for freedoms between consenting adults. The ruling issued yesterday said "The case is not about public sex. It is not about controlling commerce in sex. It is about controlling what people do in the privacy of their own homes because the state is morally opposed to a certain type of consensual private intimate conduct. This is an insufficient justification after Lawrence."

The Texas AG's office and Travis County DA's office, who both handled this case, have yet to decide if they'll appeal.

Some candidates will no doubt make this a campaign issue, particularly those who see the courts as their last stand to impose their rigid values on others.