Turning the Page on a Bad Court Ruling: Arkansas A.G. Continues the Fight to Protect Kids

Last week Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin’s office filed paperwork in federal court indicating it will appeal a bad court decision that blocked key parts an Arkansas law intended to protect children from harmful material in public libraries.

Act 372 of 2023 protects children from harmful library material. the law also eliminates exemptions for public libraries and schools in the state’s obscenity statute, and it clarifies how library patrons can work to remove objectionable material from a library’s catalog.

However, a coalition of libraries in Arkansas led by the ACLU filed a lawsuit challenging part Act 372.

As a result, U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks in Fayetteville blocked two important sections of Act 372 — Section 1, which makes it a Class A misdemeanor to give or send a child harmful sexual material that contains nudity or sexual activity, and Section 5, which clarifies how library patrons can work to remove objectionable material from a library’s catalog.

Fortunately, Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin is appealing the decision to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals — meaning the fight to protect children under Act 372 is far from finished.

Act 372 isn’t just about library books — it’s about standing up for children. Family Council has heard repeatedly from people who are deeply troubled by obscene and inappropriate children’s books that some librarians have placed on the shelves of their local libraries.

For example, the Jonesboro public library has been at the center of multiple controversies over its decision to place books with sexually-explicit images in its children’s section and for failing to adopt a policy that separates sexual material from children’s content.

The library in Jonesboro even went so far as to post on Facebook that it isn’t the library’s responsibility to protect kids from obscenity. Following the controversy in Jonesboro, voters opted to cut the library’s millage in half.

Other public libraries in Arkansas have included graphic children’s books in their catalogs and failed to separate sexual material from children’s material as well.

Some of the people who testified publicly against Act 372 in 2023 signaled that they actually wanted to be free to share obscene material with children. That simply isn’t right.

Libraries ought to be held to the same standards as everyone else when it comes to giving harmful or obscene material to a child.

Families should be able to take their children to the library without worrying what they might see, and taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize graphic novels that depict explicit images of children engaged in sexual acts.

We are grateful to Attorney General Griffin for defending Act 372. This is a good law that protects children in Arkansas. We believe higher courts ultimately will recognize that fact and uphold Act 372 as constitutional.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

Arkansas Libraries Continue to Push Sexually Explicit Materials on Kids

Above: The book It’s Perfectly Normal sits on display in the children’s section of the Craighead County Public Library in Jonesboro. The book contains inappropriate illustrations depicting nudity and sexual activity.

The following is adapted from a column that appeared in Family Council’s April update letter.

Public libraries and school libraries have been a source of contention in recent years. Parents in Arkansas—and throughout the nation—have discovered graphic sexual materials in the children’s section of their local libraries. 

It is important to note that progress has been made due to the dedicated efforts of parents, good librarians, and other community members interested in protecting the innocence of children.  However, there are still activists in local libraries who are intent on making sexual material available to children.  For example, the picture next to this column is from a display in the children’s section of the Craighead County Library last December.  The book It’s Perfectly Normal contains graphic pictures of same-sex and opposite-sex couples having sex, descriptions of anal sex, pictures of children masturbating, and more than 30 pictures of naked adults of various ages.  It also promotes abortion as a healthy choice. 

This book had been redesignated for shelving on a special shelf for parents and teachers rather than for circulation in the normal children’s shelving.  However, that did not keep staff members from going out of their way to still expose children browsing the shelves to graphic sexual materials.  A concerned parent noticed this book on display to kids and brought it to the attention of the children’s library director.  Thankfully, she removed it from the display, but how many kids may have been exposed before the book was reshelved?  

It’s a reminder of an eye-opening quote promoted on the Citizens Defending the Craighead County Library Facebook page by those fighting for a right to expose kids to explicit materials:  

“It was about kids learning that other kinds of sex existed, or that sex existed at all.” 

It should always be a parent’s right and choice about when to teach their kids about sex and what specific materials to use.  When did strangers begin to think they are the ones who have this right?   

The bottom line is that children’s sections of local libraries are still not safe places for children in Arkansas, and we have much work to do to restore libraries as places where children can safely explore the world of books in their own designated areas.  Libraries truly are community treasures, and good libraries and good librarians are a blessing.  That’s why Christians and others interested in safeguarding the innocence of children should not give up on our libraries.  

Family Council is grateful to Sen. Dan Sullivan for sponsoring Act 372 of 2023 to help deal with these important issues.  This good law prohibits giving or sending a child sexual material that is harmful to minors. It also removes exemptions for libraries in the state’s obscenity laws. Some Arkansas libraries have sued to block enforcement of Act 372, and Judge Timothy Brooks has put some sections of the law on a temporary hold pending a final ruling.  However, other helpful parts of the law remain in effect.  For example, a challenge process for obscene materials in school media centers and libraries remains in effect.  A provision that gives parents access to their children’s library records also remains in effect.  Amazingly, parents did not have this right of access under state law before the passage of Act 372.  Importantly, the section that removes language from state law that shielded school and library personnel from prosecution for disseminating obscene materials to kids also remains in effect.  I think we can all agree that no one deserves a legal exemption for knowingly providing obscene materials to kids.

Stephanie Nichols is Director and Chief Legal Counsel for Arkansas Justice Institute, a division of Family Council.

Saline County Quorum Court Votes to Put County Judge Over Library

The Saline County Quorum Court voted on Monday to give County Judge Matt Brumley authority over the county library.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette writes that Monday’s measure prevents the county library board from hiring or firing library employees or regulating their salaries. The measure also subjects the library to an annual audit, and it effectively places the quorum court in charge of the library’s budget.

The move in Saline County comes after extensive controversy over the placement of inappropriate children’s books in the library’s catalog.

Family Council has heard repeatedly from people who are deeply troubled by obscene and inappropriate children’s books that some librarians have placed on the shelves of their local libraries.

For example, the Jonesboro public library has been at the center of multiple controversies over its decision to place books with sexually-explicit images in its children’s section and for failing to adopt a policy that separates sexual material from children’s content.

The library in Jonesboro went so far as to post on Facebook that it isn’t the library’s responsibility to protect kids from obscenity.

Following the controversy in Jonesboro, voters opted to cut the library’s millage in half last November.

Other public libraries in Arkansas have included graphic children’s books in their catalogs and failed to separate sexual material from children’s material as well.

Public libraries are supposed to be for everyone.

Families should be able to take their children to the library without worrying what their children might see.

Taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize graphic novels that depict explicit images of minors engaged in sexual acts.

Hopefully, the Saline County Quorum Court’s vote this week will help ensure that library material in their community is appropriate for all ages.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.