Key takeaways:
- A federal judge has temporarily blocked Arkansas from enforcing a law that would have allowed criminal charges against librarians and booksellers for providing “harmful” or “obscene” materials to minors.
- The law would have allowed parents and guardians to file complaints with the Arkansas Department of Education if they believed library materials were harmful to minors.
- The American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas argued that the law was an unconstitutional infringement on free speech.
A federal judge has temporarily blocked Arkansas from enforcing a law that would have allowed criminal charges against librarians and booksellers for providing “harmful” or “obscene” materials to minors.
U.S. District Judge Timothy L. Brooks issued a preliminary injunction against the law on Saturday, which would have also created a new process to challenge library materials and request that they be relocated to areas not accessible by kids.
The injunction was issued in response to a challenge from a coalition that included the Central Arkansas Library System in Little Rock. The coalition argued that fear of prosecution under the measure could prompt libraries and booksellers to no longer carry titles that could be challenged.
The law, which was passed in April, would have allowed parents and guardians to file complaints with the Arkansas Department of Education if they believed library materials were harmful to minors. The department would then have the authority to order the library to remove the material or relocate it to an area not accessible to minors.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas, which represented the coalition, said the law was an unconstitutional infringement on free speech.
“This law was a direct attack on our right to access information and the right of librarians to provide it,” said Holly Dickson, ACLU of Arkansas executive director. “The court’s decision today is a victory for the First Amendment and for the people of Arkansas.”
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