RICHMOND--If you're among the (hopefully few) people whose idea of a classy car ornament is a pair of Truck Nutz, you'll want to pay attention to this.
Del. Lionel Spruill, D-Chesapeake, has introduced a bill to ban the ornamental genitalia, which come in a variety of colors and sizes and are usually displayed by hanging them off the backs of trucks, although they're also available for other vehicles.
Spruill said he's never seen the things himself, but that a constituent called to complain after his six-year-old granddaughter spotted a pair on a truck and asked what they were. The constituent wanted Spruill to put in a bill to ban the ornaments, which he and Spruill consider vulgar.
"I said, 'Sir, I'm going to be a laughingstock, but I'm going to do it,'" Spruill said.
Spruill may not have heard of the fake testicles before that constituent's call, but he's done his homework.
He waved pages printed off the Internet Web site that sells them as he described his bill for reporters.
He said that originally, such ornaments "were real small, nobody paid no mind," but that they are now sold in larger, more offensive versions. Some are certainly large enough to be noticeable--the biggest ones from the site Spruill researched weigh more than 2 pounds.
Spruill said--perhaps in jest, perhaps not--that he plans to bring a set of the fake testicles to the House floor to demonstrate for his colleagues just how distasteful they are.
His bill would make it a class 4 misdemeanor to display the testicular accessories, which carries a $250 fine.
Chelyen Davis: 804/782-9362