Reason.com - Free Minds and Free Markets
Reason logo Reason logo
  • Latest
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Subscribe
    • Crossword
  • Video
  • Podcasts
    • All Shows
    • The Reason Roundtable
    • The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie
    • The Soho Forum Debates
    • Just Asking Questions
    • The Best of Reason Magazine
    • Why We Can't Have Nice Things
  • Volokh
  • Newsletters
  • Donate
    • Donate Online
    • Donate Crypto
    • Ways To Give To Reason Foundation
    • Torchbearer Society
    • Planned Giving
  • Subscribe
    • Reason Plus Subscription
    • Print Subscription
    • Gift Subscriptions
    • Subscriber Support

Login Form

Create new account
Forgot password

Gun Rights

Activists Clash at SXSW Over Texas Open Carry Laws

Boobs, dildos, and guns-oh, my.

Stephanie Slade | 3.16.2016 4:24 PM

Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL
Media Contact & Reprint Requests
Open carry protesters at SXSW 2016
Mac McCann

There was a lot of exposure on the first day of South by Southwest (SXSW) last week.

A pro–gun rights group, led by military vet and open carry activist C.J. Grisham, staged a walk from the Capitol building in Austin to the convention center at the heart of the city's big tech and music festival.

In response, a counterprotester turned out to show off something other than a firearm: her bare breasts. They would later be joined by someone from the Cocks Not Glocks movement—I swear I'm not making this up—armed with a bag of dildos.

One-time Reason contributor Mac McCann has the story for The Austin Chronicle:

Shortly after noon, a woman, who chose not to be identified for safety reasons, arrived on the scene wearing signs with slogans like "More Boobs, Fewer Guns" and "Boobs for Peace." … She said Austin is about peace and love and hippies, not guns. Chanting almost nonstop for the entirety of the event, the woman shouted things like "My tits are political," and "I'd rather have my 56-year-old boobs flopping around than have guns in my town."

As the event went on, tensions rose between Grisham and the topless woman. As he was trying to talk to the media, the woman chanted "more boobs, less guns," jiggled her breasts, mooned the open carry activists, and traded insults with Grisham. … In the background of the heated debate, schoolchildren on a field trip got a little more of an education than their school likely intended.

Shortly after the group reached their destination, #CocksNotGlocks founder Jessica Jin, wearing a dress and holding a Thomas Paine book, arrived on the scene armed with a bag of dildos to hand out. She also had a ginormous black dildo, "Cockzilla," hooked to her backpack, and got a picture with Grisham comparing her dildo to his gun. 

While their disagreements were clear, the debate between Jin and Grisham (which focused more on campus carry than open carry) was much more civil than the earlier interactions. [Gun rights activist Candy] Martin said she'd love to have a beer with Jin sometime, and Grisham later described on the Open Carry Texas Facebook page "the honor of meeting" Jin, whom he described as "a wonderful young lady … for a liberal."

Read the whole thing here.

Start your day with Reason. Get a daily brief of the most important stories and trends every weekday morning when you subscribe to Reason Roundup.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

NEXT: Uber Seems to Be More Efficient Than Taxis in Time Spent Ferrying Passengers

Stephanie Slade is a senior editor at Reason.

Gun RightsGun ControlTexasSXSW
Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL
Media Contact & Reprint Requests

Hide Comments (58)

Editor's Note: As of February 29, 2024, commenting privileges on reason.com posts are limited to Reason Plus subscribers. Past commenters are grandfathered in for a temporary period. Subscribe here to preserve your ability to comment. Your Reason Plus subscription also gives you an ad-free version of reason.com, along with full access to the digital edition and archives of Reason magazine. We request that comments be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment and ban commenters for any reason at any time. Comments may only be edited within 5 minutes of posting. Report abuses.

  1. Anomalous   9 years ago

    She's opposed to open carry of guns, but she's showing off some bazookas there.

    1. bacon-magic   9 years ago

      Bazookas is not the correct word. Sack of potatoes in a tube sock would have been acceptable.

      1. Cyto   9 years ago

        Eh, I'm with Ron White on this one.

        "Do you want to see my tits?"

        "Yes. Yes I do.. ... .... Ok, that's enough. You can put 'em away now."

        (Ok, much funnier when spoken by Ron White than when written by Cyto)

      2. nova3930   9 years ago

        Why is it that the one's who want to let their hooters flop in the breeze are ALWAYS the one's that really need to keep them covered up?

  2. yet another dave   9 years ago

    why can't we have topless women AND open carry people. sheesh

    1. Diane Reynolds (Paul.)   9 years ago

      *ringing endorsement*

    2. But Enough About Me   9 years ago

      why can't we have topless women AND open carry people. sheesh

      'Zackly! The genius of the "and" rather than the tyranny of the "or," I always say.

      1. Jima   9 years ago

        Speaking of genius, how about a hot topless woman, with a holstered weapon on one hip, and a holstered dildo on the other? 3 for 1 is all I'm sayin'.
        Drops the mic and swaggers away

    3. Bubba Jones   9 years ago

      Some chick made the news in New Hampshire doing just that.

  3. Hugh Akston   9 years ago

    I can't imagine how the conditions in that prison are constitutional.

  4. AlmightyJB   9 years ago

    Come on, you know you want to say it.

  5. Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer   9 years ago

    Er.

  6. Irish Breaks Up W/ ESB   9 years ago

    ""More Boobs, Fewer Guns" and "Boobs for Peace.""

    This is right up there with UT students carrying around dildos to protest gun laws when it comes to bizarre left-wing non sequitors.

    1. Tonio   9 years ago

      ^This.

      These people honestly think they are saying something relevant or clever. They're not. They're just being idiots (the dildo-wavers) or putting on a free show.

    2. Zeb   9 years ago

      This is right up there with UT students carrying around dildos to protest gun laws when it comes to bizarre left-wing non sequitors.

      It's like they really believe the TEAM bullshit. Everyone who likes guns must also be some kind of anti-dildo socon. Guns are totems of evil to them, so whatever they are into must be the same to the gun nuts.

      1. Diane Reynolds (Paul.)   9 years ago

        Is that what this is about? They think that if you carry a piece you're against seeing a pair? Ok... I guess that makes the non-sequitur a little more... sequitur.

        1. Zeb   9 years ago

          That's my take on the dildo protest anyway. I don't know about the boobs lady. There is plenty of room in the world for more boobs and more guns.

        2. Cyto   9 years ago

          They think that if you carry a piece you're against seeing a pair?

          I think they've never met men. Men like boobs. Pretty much all men. Men who like guns. Men who don't like guns. Tall men, short men, men who climb on rocks....

          1. Scalro Humillimus   9 years ago

            But not men who climb on cocks.

    3. Leigh   9 years ago

      Now that's triggering - showing off all those dildos! Where's my safe space!

    4. Number 2   9 years ago

      The puzzling part is that these protesters think that antics like this actually are effective in changing peoples' mind.

  7. Crusty Juggler   9 years ago

    I had no idea I was attracted to Greg "The Hammer" Valentine.

  8. Fist of Etiquette   9 years ago

    I'd rather have my 56-year-old boobs flopping around than have guns in my town.

    Which are the better deterrent of mashers?

  9. Irish Breaks Up W/ ESB   9 years ago

    "Shortly after the group reached their destination, #CocksNotGlocks founder Jessica Jin, wearing a dress and holding a Thomas Paine book"

    "The supposed quietude of a good man allures the ruffian; while on the other hand arms, like laws, discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as property. The same balance would be preserved were all the world destitute of arms, for all would be alike; but since some will not, others dare not lay them aside ? Horrid mischief would ensue were the law-abiding deprived of the use of them."
    -Thomas Paine

    She should probably read Thomas Paine before flaunting his books.

    1. GILMORE?   9 years ago

      You are depriving her of the right of selective-quotation!!

      "" The same balance would be preserved were all the world destitute of arms, for all would be alike""

  10. Citizen X   9 years ago

    Crusty would.

    John already did.

  11. Crusty Juggler   9 years ago

    Booking my flight for next years' festival, so that I can claim that waving around Lil' Crust and The Jugglers has political relevance.

    1. W. Chipper Dove   9 years ago

      I saw them at Crustapalooza '08. They wailed.

  12. creech   9 years ago

    For a second there, I thought that was Hillary in Austin.

  13. GILMORE?   9 years ago

    What's weird is that SHE can't seem to look the guy in the eye

  14. Zeb   9 years ago

    http://www.gunsanddopeparty.net/

    No reason the sex-perverts, the gun nuts and the dope fiends can't get along.

    1. But Enough About Me   9 years ago

      That's GENIUS!

  15. Hank Phillips   9 years ago

    I was scanning for a The Onion byline to prove the thing was a put on. But that is Austin, Texas, the town taken over by Merry Pranksters at the same time as San Francisco. Pity the anti-gun people don't notice the narcs and tax collectors packing enough heat to wipe them all out ten times over.

    1. Diane Reynolds (Paul.)   9 years ago

      The narcs and tax collectors are on their side.

      1. dantheserene   9 years ago

        Or so the antis believe. It may even be true, for the moment.

  16. Old Man With Candy   9 years ago

    My sister, who lives in a major East Coast city was visiting me when I lived in Austin and expressed horror at how many people (including me and Mrs. Candy) packed. I pointed out that the previous year, Austin had fewer street shootings than her city did the previous weekend, despite being more than double her city's size. Huh, whattaya know.

    Fortunately, she kept her boobs to herself. I don't want to look at that shit.

  17. The Grinch   9 years ago

    Well, shit, I can't unsee that. Please lady, keep those things holstered.

  18. Hyperion   9 years ago

    These people are not protesting anything. They just want attention and are willing to do anything to get it because they're not the type of people that anyone is typically attracted to.

  19. Half-Virtue, Half-Vice   9 years ago

    I mean I'm not going to knock a pair of titties. Err... I'm not not going to knock a pair of titties.

  20. Juvenile Bluster   9 years ago

    Well, I have to say this is the first time H&R has ever rendered me speechless.

  21. HeteroPatriarch   9 years ago

    I hadn't realized Cotton Hill was based on a real guy.

  22. R C Dean   9 years ago

    got a picture with Grisham comparing her dildo to his gun.

    See, Grisham is a good sport. Could you post the pic? I bet its hilarious.

    I think the point the the dildo wavers are trying to make is that guns are penis subsitutes for guys with tiny penises. Apparently, they don't seem to realize that, whether or not gun owners are obsessed with penises, the anti-gunners certainly seem to be.

    1. Zeb   9 years ago

      They should just have a dick measuring contest and settle this once and for all.

  23. Diane Reynolds (Paul.)   9 years ago

    Can we call this "brandishing"?

  24. Diane Reynolds (Paul.)   9 years ago

    Wouldn't.

  25. Steve Bumgardner   9 years ago

    Why, oh why, can it never be a hot chick?

    1. Diane Reynolds (Paul.)   9 years ago

      Look up "Value Theory".

    2. neoteny   9 years ago

      Femen activists are Ukrainian and do their protesting in Europe.

      1. jarflax   9 years ago

        Would

      2. Cyto   9 years ago

        These women have big, hairy balls..... metaphorically, not literally.

        Woman in the center painted Islamic crescents on her boobs and the words "Fuck Islamism" above and below. And a bunch of execs over at Comedy Central were crapping their pants over a cartoon of Mohamed in a salmon football helmet. (and those were the brave execs that allowed their talent to take on the issue at all.) If only everyone were as well endowed.

  26. John C. Randolph   9 years ago

    In response, a counterprotester turned out to show off something other than a firearm: her bare breasts.

    Well, she sure showed them!

    -jcr

  27. Number 2   9 years ago

    "...#CocksNotGlocks founder Jessica Jin, wearing a dress and holding a Thomas Paine book, arrived on the scene armed with a bag of dildos to hand out..."

    Wait a minute. Aren't dildos and cocks triggering for rape survivors?

  28. DaveSs   9 years ago

    An idea that is lost on them

    They wouldn't dare even be standing anywhere near this guy if they really thought he really and truly was a hair-trigger wacko.
    They know they are safe and thus they'll engage in their childish antics right next to him.

  29. CJR   9 years ago

    I fucking hate everyone in this story. SXSW can't get accidentally nuked soon enough.

  30. buybuydandavis   9 years ago

    3 nuts arguing in public makes a Reason story?

  31. MaxBlancke   9 years ago

    I personally think that everyone involved is deluded. Open carry laws exist for valid reasons, but there is a time and place for the open display of firearms. Congress Avenue is not one of them. The counter protesters are basing their protests on the stereotype that anyone who like guns must be a sexually repressed prude. I suspect that most of these people moved to Austin from somewhere else.
    My wife, who is a very good person, and an excellent shot, spent her summers as a teenager sunbathing topless at Barton Springs. because guns and nudity and Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Willie and Whole Foods and rattlesnake roundups are all things that go together nicely in Austin.

  32. Rational Exuberance   9 years ago

    Carrying guns causes young women to undress? I'm sure that will convince men not to open carry. /sarc

  33. Rational Exuberance   9 years ago

    I see massive boob inequality. Bernie to the rescue?

Please log in to post comments

Mute this user?

  • Mute User
  • Cancel

Ban this user?

  • Ban User
  • Cancel

Un-ban this user?

  • Un-ban User
  • Cancel

Nuke this user?

  • Nuke User
  • Cancel

Un-nuke this user?

  • Un-nuke User
  • Cancel

Flag this comment?

  • Flag Comment
  • Cancel

Un-flag this comment?

  • Un-flag Comment
  • Cancel

Latest

California Enacts Sweeping Exemption to Development-Killing Environmental Law

Christian Britschgi | 7.1.2025 1:10 PM

Senate Votes 99–1 To Remove AI Moratorium from 'Big, Beautiful Bill' 

Jack Nicastro | 7.1.2025 12:27 PM

Why the 'Current Policy' Baseline Is a Massive Gimmick That Effectively Kills the Filibuster

Eric Boehm | 7.1.2025 12:00 PM

New Jersey Towns Face Setback in Lawsuit Against State's Affordable Housing Mandate

Tosin Akintola | 7.1.2025 11:45 AM

Why the NFLPA Kept Damning Collusion Evidence From Its Own Players

Jason Russell | 7.1.2025 11:25 AM

Recommended

  • About
  • Browse Topics
  • Events
  • Staff
  • Jobs
  • Donate
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Media
  • Shop
  • Amazon
Reason Facebook@reason on XReason InstagramReason TikTokReason YoutubeApple PodcastsReason on FlipboardReason RSS

© 2024 Reason Foundation | Accessibility | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

r

Do you care about free minds and free markets? Sign up to get the biggest stories from Reason in your inbox every afternoon.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

This modal will close in 10

Reason Plus

Special Offer!

  • Full digital edition access
  • No ads
  • Commenting privileges

Just $25 per year

Join Today!