A federal appeals court halted a Texas law Wednesday that bans school library books deemed “sexually explicit” on grounds it violates free speech rights.
The court, in a sharply worded ruling, rejected the state’s contention that requiring booksellers to rate books based on their sexual content is little different from requiring a nutrition label on food.
“We disagree,” the court ruled. The ratings required by the book ban “are neither factual nor uncontroversial …. Balancing a myriad of factors that depend on community standards is anything but the mere disclosure of factual information. And it has already proven controversial.”
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We are not talking about public libraries here. We are talking about school libraries for kids. Not every book is suitable for children.
The court, in a sharply worded ruling, rejected the state’s contention that requiring booksellers to rate books based on their sexual content is little different from requiring a nutrition label on food.
“We disagree,” the court ruled. The ratings required by the book ban “are neither factual nor uncontroversial …. Balancing a myriad of factors that depend on community standards is anything but the mere disclosure of factual information. And it has already proven controversial.”
---
We are not talking about public libraries here. We are talking about school libraries for kids. Not every book is suitable for children.