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Judge Voids AR Law Criminalizing Librarians' Offering 'Harmful' Texts

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A federal judge struck down as unconstitutional parts of an Arkansas law that would have allowed criminal charges against librarians and booksellers for providing “harmful” materials to minors. State Attorney General Tim Griffin said he would file an appeal, the Associated Press reports. The law would have created a process to challenge library materials and request that they be relocated to areas not accessible to children. The measure was signed by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders in 2023. A court had blocked it from taking effect while it was being challenged. “The law deputizes librarians and booksellers as the agents of censorship; when motivated by the fear of jail time, it is likely they will shelve only books fit for young children and segregate or discard the rest,” said U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks.


A coalition including the Central Arkansas Library System challenged the law, saying fear of prosecution under the measure could prompt libraries and booksellers to stop carrying titles that could be challenged. “This was an attempt to ‘thought police,’ and this victory over totalitarianism is a testament to the courage of librarians, booksellers, and readers who refused to bow to intimidation,” said Holly Dickson of the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas. Supporters will continue to fight for the law, which Sanders called "just common sense: schools and libraries shouldn’t put obscene material in front of our kids." The ruling comes as lawmakers in some conservative states are pushing for measures making it easier to ban or restrict access to books. Such laws have been enacted in several other states, including Iowa, Indiana and Texas.

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