Librarians could face years of imprisonment and tens of thousands in fines for providing sexually explicit, obscene or “harmful” books to children under new state laws that permit criminal prosecution of school and library personnel. At least seven states have passed such laws in the last two years, according to a Washington Post analysis, six of them in the past two months — although governors of Idaho and North Dakota vetoed the legislation. Another dozen states considered more than 20 similar bills this year, half of which are likely to come up again in 2024, The Post found. Some of the laws impose severe penalties on librarians, who until now were exempted in almost every state from prosecution over obscene material — a carve-out meant to permit accurate lessons in topics such as sex education. All but one of the new laws target schools, while some also target the staff of public libraries and one affects book vendors. One example is an Arkansas measure that says school and public librarians, as well as teachers, can be imprisoned for up to six years or fined $10,000 if they distribute obscene or harmful texts. It takes effect Aug. 1. Library and free speech advocates were unaware of any instances so far in which a school staffer had been charged under the new laws. Most of the laws do not spell out precisely who will decide what counts as obscene but suggest the judgment should come from the courts. Some educators and activists say the laws will forge a climate of fear among school librarians, spurring the censorship of books by and about LGBTQ individuals — even as the nation already faces a historic onslaught of challenges to books in those categories. “It will make sure the only literature students are exposed to fits into a narrow scope of what some people want the world to look like,” said Keith Gambill, president of the teachers union in Indiana, one of the states that adopted obscenity laws. “This is my 37th year in education. I’ve never seen anything like this. … We are entering a very frightening period.” more at link https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2023/05/18/school-librarians-jailed-banned-books/ information on a recent bill that was passed in Indiana Legislation banning "harmful materials" from school libraries in Indiana passed the General Assembly in the final days of the 2023 session. Here's what you need to know about Indiana House Bill 1447, which has been signed into law. Indiana General Assembly 2023: House, Senate agree on measure to ban books from school libraries What's in Indiana House Bill 1447? The education bill initially was drafted to provide guidelines regarding third-party vendors for analysis, evaluations or surveys in schools. Late in the session, language was added that would classify literature "harmful to minors" under the same umbrella as already banned obscene materials. Indiana Code outlines the following definitions of materials that are "harmful to minors": Nudity, sexual content or "sado-masochistic abuse" A persuasiveness for minors to engage in sexual activities Offensive content to community standards for adults considering what's suitable to minors to see Content void of "serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value" for kids Librarians who violate the law could be charged with a Level 6 felony and face up to two and a half years of jail time. Opponents worry about the chilling effects of stiff penalties creating pressure to remove books with anything controversial, such as LGBTQ content. https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/school-librarians-could-face-prison-125821403.html
Tho descriptions of the material that would get a librarian punished sound like a lot of Young adult literature. It looks like a librarian allowing a tween to check out the Twilight Saga might be in trouble.
I’ve been thinking about moving back to Texas but a lot of this gives me pause. The two states I have the deepest ties to I have a love hate relationship with both. I still liveTexas and believe it is a great state with a lot of potential but the politics there and the gun culture is very troubling. At the same time Minnesota is doing big in their governance that I largely agree with it. It’s still too damn cold much of the year and feels provincial at times.
that 1 teacher in Florida is in all this trouble for showing a movie where the horrifying LGBT moment was simply 1 of the characters saying they had a crush on the other Now a book that has something similar could have a librarian facing jail time? What is this world coming to?
It’s basically Helen Lovejoy crying “WONT ANYBODY THINK OF THE CHILDREN” as a governing and campaign strategy.
The fake christian`s are turning back the clock to the 1950`s, if you think outside the box then you have no place in this white homogenized society. Praise the LORD and pass the bullets
100%. I was born in MN, have family there and it's gorgeous in the Summer. But the winter....fuuuuuck that. We're looking at Massachusetts since it's at the top of the charts for safety & school quality, and my company and about 50 people I work with are there including most of the c-suite. However, it's cold there too and the housing prices are bananas for a Houston boy; I could buy a McMansion here in H-town for what a 5/3 costs there. I can 'afford' it, but it's a tough pill to swallow.
Are we supposed to live life acting like LGBTQ people don’t exist or should be ostracized and hated? Like they’re some existential threat? The hate and hypocrisy can’t be beat. How many kids been touched by a Catholic priest? If I had a dollar for every GOP politician arrested for molestation, child p*rn, and other sex offenses…
this is the biggest joke from that Indiana bill Offensive content to community standards for adults considering what's suitable to minors to see Content void of "serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value" for kids Tf are “community standards” supposed to mean? Based off the standards of these hateful people, anything dealing with any sort of minority won’t be to their “standards” nor have any value. Black baseball legends Jackie Robinson, Hank Aaron, and Roberto Clemente—and their triumphs in the face of racism—are apparently not appropriate reading for students in one large Florida district. Children’s books that tell the stories of how the three sports heroes broke color barriers and battled racism during their lives have been removed from libraries in Duval County Public Schools, which is about the 20th-largest district in the country. Florida schools have become a hotbed for the censorship of books about racism and the LGBTQ community since Gov. Ron DeSantis began attacking “woke culture.” these books were only later reinstated because the public outcry got so bad
Librarians face prison while internet companies have no responsibility for the content they host. Looks to me like libraries would be wise to replace all the books with Chromebooks and a good wifi connection. Honestly, it could be the death of libraries. They persevered through previous bouts of book-burnings because we needed them as repositories of knowledge. As the internet becomes more and more the fabric of life, the value of the library isn't all that obvious anymore. Censorship might be the catalyst for their extinction now.
It was loans to The Poors that caused the 2008 financial crisis. Those dirty elite-aspiring Librarians are among them.