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 Linda Thomas
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Truck nuts - obscene or free speech?

May 8, 2012 @ 3:18 am (Updated: 3:35 am - 5/8/12 )

For the second time in a year, a motorist has been ticketed in South Carolina for displaying a replica of testicles on a vehicle.

I first saw "truck nuts" on a vehicle when I attended my nephew's graduation in North Dakota. They're fake bull testicles made of plastic or metal that drivers hang on the back of their pickups to make a truck look more manly. I was told they've "been around for years" and no one else gave them a second glance.

TruckNuts

Some find them funny, while others find them offensive, prompting at least three states to try to ban them.

In South Carolina, a Spartanburg County sheriff's deputy stopped a truck Sunday evening after noticing the truck nuts on the rear bumper. The incident report says the driver removed the display after being stopped but he was arrested for driving without a license. He was also given a warning ticket for having an obscene display.

That's happened before in South Carolina. Last July, a Bonneau woman was ticketed for having a similar display on the back of her truck. That case is to go to trial in municipal court, but it's been delayed three times.

The most recent case in South Carolina is fueling debate over whether the car decorations (I'm trying not to write truck nuts again) violate state indecency laws and if attempting to regulate them infringes on freedom of speech.

In the past, lawmakers in Tennessee, Virginia, Maryland and Florida have proposed legislation to ban these types of decals and other explicit bumper stickers.

By LINDA THOMAS

AP contributed to this report

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Comments (37)


  • Add A Comment

  • Corwyn wrote...
    Not obscene
    May 8, 2012 4:27 am
    Just in "poor taste" to some people.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • DJFavorite wrote...
    Bad taste
    May 8, 2012 5:20 am
    I don't find them obscene, but they are in 'bad taste', IMHO and are probably protected by free speech. Same with the naked lady window clings and mudflaps. Every time I see them, they always seem to be on some big truck. Then it reminds me of the saying about guys with big toys are compensating.
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  • worhtalook wrote...
    I agree with you DJF
    May 8, 2012 9:09 am
    I am fairly conservative, but not a prude..I think they are funny, and in bad taste but...why all the fuss? It is not a matter of free speech. I am so tired of hearing stuff like this everytime someone wants to say something vulgar, or insulting or hateful. I do not like seeing naked women on vehicles..and i so very much agree with what you wrote about "compensating". You can put naked women or hang testicles on your vehicle and proclaim the right due to free speech, but you cannot have a license plate that makes any reference to Jesus Christ or God? Free speech for some..
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  • Chuck Gould wrote...
    Trucks don't come with testicles,
    May 8, 2012 5:38 am
    so whatever those things are supposed to be, any association with male reproductive gear is in the mind of the beholder.

    Even *if* the ornament represented testicles, no portion of the body is obscene. There are obscene acts, (but much of what we consider obscene is merely a matter of poor taste or inappropriate timing), but no obscene body parts.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • BlueTalon wrote...
    Thanks for clearing that up!
    May 8, 2012 7:12 pm
    Chuck Gould wrote... "There are obscene acts, but no obscene body parts." So THAT'S why we're all nudists! I get it now!
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  • ron prevost wrote...
    LOOK - evert time someone is acting wimpy -
    May 8, 2012 5:38 am
    we tell them to 'get a pair'. .................. So, to the State of South Carolina...............
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • FormerMarineSgt wrote...
    Obscene?
    May 8, 2012 6:06 am
    Obscene - No. Stupid? - Abso-freaking-lutely.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • SickofSeattleite wrote...
    obscene...
    May 8, 2012 6:19 am
    and also free speech. Go ahead and hang your nuts...just makes them look like hillbilly losers...
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Forrest wrote...
    It's a sign
    May 8, 2012 6:29 am
    to give them a wide berth. Sort of a sign that says 'Moron on board'.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • okisoji wrote...
    The shallow end of the gene pool
    May 8, 2012 8:21 am
    Is there anything that screams "double Y chromosome" more than this?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • HPD 5-0 wrote...
    I vote for stupid.
    May 8, 2012 8:44 am
    Anyone who puts these stupid things on their rig is an idiot and a follower.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • dcnilsen wrote...
    HPD 5-0
    May 8, 2012 9:01 am
    As opposed to you being completely unique and never doing, saying, wearing, etc anything that anyone else has ever done, said, etc. Where as i think they are stupid also...i hardly thing that the person putting them up is stupid or a follower...
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  • Realitycheck wrote...
    HPD
    May 8, 2012 5:49 pm
    I don't know, doesn't it show us who the idiots are and who has to compensate? Kinda valuable information you get up front...lol
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • mikey1 wrote...
    OBSCENE
    May 8, 2012 9:18 am
    WHAT I FIND OBSCENE IS (THE 2012 OBAMA BUMPER STICKERS)
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
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