On July 29th, 2023, U.S. District Judge Timothy L. Brooks of Arkansas issued a significant victory for free-speech advocates by granting a preliminary injunction to temporarily block Act 372. This state law would have criminalized librarians and booksellers for providing minors with materials deemed “harmful.” The law, scheduled to take effect this Tuesday, had sparked widespread criticism for violating individual liberties and potentially censoring reading materials (The Washington Post).
Act 372 contained provisions that would have criminalized knowingly providing minors with materials deemed “harmful,” a term defined by state law as containing nudity or sexual content, appealing to a “prurient interest in sex,” lacking serious literary, scientific, medical, artistic, or political value for minors, or deemed “inappropriate for minors” according to current community standards (The Washington Post). Additionally, Article 5 of Act 372 allowed individuals to challenge the “appropriateness” of materials in county or municipal libraries if they felt affected by them. Critics worried about potential censorship, self-censorship, and inconsistent enforcement, impacting intellectual freedom and diverse materials accessibility.
Libraries, bookstores, and patrons in the state filed a lawsuit last month, arguing that the law put librarians and booksellers in an untenable position. They would have to either remove books considered offensive, create adult-only spaces for those materials, ban minors altogether, or risk facing criminal charges or fines (The Washington Post).
Judge Brooks sided with the plaintiffs, emphasizing that the law could lead to censorship decisions based on content or viewpoint, which would violate the right to free speech guaranteed by the Constitution (The Washington Post). He also noted that the state’s definition of “harmful” materials was too vague. The judge’s ruling also denied the state’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit, further bolstering the plaintiffs’ position (The Washington Post).
Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed Act 372 into law in March, joining other states in imposing criminal charges for librarians or booksellers over material deemed harmful or obscene. However, the court’s injunction puts the law on hold temporarily (The Washington Post).
The offices of Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin and Governor Sanders did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Griffin, in an email to the Associated Press, stated that his office would be reviewing the judge’s opinion and intended to vigorously defend the law (The Washington Post).
Act 372 would have classified “furnishing a harmful item to a minor” as a class A misdemeanor, carrying penalties of up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $2,500 (The Washington Post).
The court injunction highlighted that Arkansas already had a law in place prohibiting the provision of obscene materials to minors, but it had protected librarians, museum staff, and educators from prosecution if they disseminated material “claimed to be obscene” within the scope of their regular employment. Act 372, however, removed this protection, marking a significant change in how librarians are treated under the law (The Washington Post).
The ACLU of Arkansas, which jointly filed the lawsuit against Act 372, celebrated the court’s decision as a victory for freedom of speech and thought. The organization’s Executive Director, Holly Dickson, stated that the ruling defended the highly valued liberties of Arkansans (The Washington Post).
In his injunction, Judge Brooks referenced the wider implications of Arkansas’ law, drawing parallels to “Fahrenheit 451,” a novel depicting a society controlled by authorities burning books to restrict access to information and knowledge. The judge quoted author Ray Bradbury, warning against censorship and restrictions on access to diverse perspectives (The Washington Post).
The suit challenging Act 372 named Arkansas’ 28 elected prosecuting attorneys, as well as Crawford County and its county judge, Chris Keith, as defendants responsible for enforcing the law.
The lawsuit pointed to Crawford County as an example of Act 372 potentially curtailing constitutionally protected access to materials, specifically citing the dispute over LGBTQ+ children’s books placement in libraries. This highlighted concerns about censorship and limitations on diverse perspectives and intellectual freedom. The county defended its right to protect children from exposure to materials they deemed harmful to their innocence, but the complaint expressed concerns that Act 372 could lead to further crackdowns in the future (The Washington Post).
Among the plaintiffs was Hayden Kirby, a 17-year-old resident of Little Rock who frequented the Central Arkansas Library System. Kirby expressed her desire to fight for intellectual freedom and ensure libraries remained spaces where young Arkansans could explore diverse perspectives freely (The Washington Post).
Source:
https://eb18600f7bb2916037f5ee8e636ce199.cdn.bubble.io/f1690727895441x171814767274355740/Judge%20halts%20Arkansas%20ban%20on%20librarians%20giving%20kids%20%27harmful%27%20books%20-%20The%20Washington%20Post.pdf
Act 372 contained provisions that would have criminalized knowingly providing minors with materials deemed “harmful,” a term defined by state law as containing nudity or sexual content, appealing to a “prurient interest in sex,” lacking serious literary, scientific, medical, artistic, or political value for minors, or deemed “inappropriate for minors” according to current community standards (The Washington Post). Additionally, Article 5 of Act 372 allowed individuals to challenge the “appropriateness” of materials in county or municipal libraries if they felt affected by them. Critics worried about potential censorship, self-censorship, and inconsistent enforcement, impacting intellectual freedom and diverse materials accessibility.
Libraries, bookstores, and patrons in the state filed a lawsuit last month, arguing that the law put librarians and booksellers in an untenable position. They would have to either remove books considered offensive, create adult-only spaces for those materials, ban minors altogether, or risk facing criminal charges or fines (The Washington Post).
Judge Brooks sided with the plaintiffs, emphasizing that the law could lead to censorship decisions based on content or viewpoint, which would violate the right to free speech guaranteed by the Constitution (The Washington Post). He also noted that the state’s definition of “harmful” materials was too vague. The judge’s ruling also denied the state’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit, further bolstering the plaintiffs’ position (The Washington Post).
Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed Act 372 into law in March, joining other states in imposing criminal charges for librarians or booksellers over material deemed harmful or obscene. However, the court’s injunction puts the law on hold temporarily (The Washington Post).
The offices of Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin and Governor Sanders did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Griffin, in an email to the Associated Press, stated that his office would be reviewing the judge’s opinion and intended to vigorously defend the law (The Washington Post).
Act 372 would have classified “furnishing a harmful item to a minor” as a class A misdemeanor, carrying penalties of up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $2,500 (The Washington Post).
The court injunction highlighted that Arkansas already had a law in place prohibiting the provision of obscene materials to minors, but it had protected librarians, museum staff, and educators from prosecution if they disseminated material “claimed to be obscene” within the scope of their regular employment. Act 372, however, removed this protection, marking a significant change in how librarians are treated under the law (The Washington Post).
The ACLU of Arkansas, which jointly filed the lawsuit against Act 372, celebrated the court’s decision as a victory for freedom of speech and thought. The organization’s Executive Director, Holly Dickson, stated that the ruling defended the highly valued liberties of Arkansans (The Washington Post).
In his injunction, Judge Brooks referenced the wider implications of Arkansas’ law, drawing parallels to “Fahrenheit 451,” a novel depicting a society controlled by authorities burning books to restrict access to information and knowledge. The judge quoted author Ray Bradbury, warning against censorship and restrictions on access to diverse perspectives (The Washington Post).
The suit challenging Act 372 named Arkansas’ 28 elected prosecuting attorneys, as well as Crawford County and its county judge, Chris Keith, as defendants responsible for enforcing the law.
The lawsuit pointed to Crawford County as an example of Act 372 potentially curtailing constitutionally protected access to materials, specifically citing the dispute over LGBTQ+ children’s books placement in libraries. This highlighted concerns about censorship and limitations on diverse perspectives and intellectual freedom. The county defended its right to protect children from exposure to materials they deemed harmful to their innocence, but the complaint expressed concerns that Act 372 could lead to further crackdowns in the future (The Washington Post).
Among the plaintiffs was Hayden Kirby, a 17-year-old resident of Little Rock who frequented the Central Arkansas Library System. Kirby expressed her desire to fight for intellectual freedom and ensure libraries remained spaces where young Arkansans could explore diverse perspectives freely (The Washington Post).
Source:
https://eb18600f7bb2916037f5ee8e636ce199.cdn.bubble.io/f1690727895441x171814767274355740/Judge%20halts%20Arkansas%20ban%20on%20librarians%20giving%20kids%20%27harmful%27%20books%20-%20The%20Washington%20Post.pdf
