Arkansas House Narrowly Passes Bill to Protect Children from Obscenity at Libraries

Legislation, Library, , ,

On Wednesday the Arkansas House of Representatives narrowly passed a bill addressing obscenity and other harmful material in public libraries.

S.B. 81 by Sen. Dan Sullivan (R – Russellville) and Rep. Justin Gonzales (R – Okolona) prohibits giving or sending harmful sexual material to a child.

The bill eliminates exemptions for 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.

On Wednesday, the measure received 56 votes in the Arkansas House of Representatives; it takes 51 votes to pass a bill.

Family Council has heard repeatedly from people who are deeply troubled by obscene 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.

Other public libraries in Arkansas have failed to separate sexual material from children’s material as well.

Some of the people who have testified publicly against S.B. 81 this year have signaled that they want to be free to share obscene material with children at a library.

S.B. 81 is a good bill that will help prevent that.

The Following Representatives Voted For S.B. 81

  • Barker
  • Beaty Jr.
  • Beck
  • Bentley
  • Breaux
  • Brooks
  • K. Brown
  • M. Brown
  • Burkes
  • John Carr
  • Cavenaugh
  • C. Cooper
  • Crawford
  • Dalby
  • Duffield
  • Duke
  • Eaves
  • C. Fite
  • L. Fite
  • Furman
  • Gazaway
  • Gonzales
  • Gramlich
  • Haak
  • Hawk
  • D. Hodges
  • G. Hodges
  • Jean
  • L. Johnson
  • Long
  • Lundstrum
  • Maddox
  • McAlindon
  • McCollum
  • McGrew
  • B. McKenzie
  • McNair
  • S. Meeks
  • Milligan
  • Painter
  • Pearce
  • Pilkington
  • Puryear
  • Ray
  • Richmond
  • Rose
  • Rye
  • Schulz
  • R. Scott Richardson
  • Steimel
  • Tosh
  • Underwood
  • Unger
  • Wing
  • Womack
  • Wooldridge

The Following Representatives Voted Against S.B. 81

  • F. Allen
  • S. Berry
  • Clowney
  • A. Collins
  • Ennett
  • D. Ferguson
  • K. Ferguson
  • V. Flowers
  • D. Garner
  • Hudson
  • Lynch
  • Magie
  • McCullough
  • M. McElroy
  • Nicks
  • Perry
  • J. Richardson
  • Scott
  • T. Shephard
  • Springer
  • Vaught
  • Walker
  • Warren
  • D. Whitaker
  • Wooten

The Following Representatives Voted “Present” on S.B. 81

  • Joey Carr
  • Cozart
  • Evans
  • Hollowell
  • J. Mayberry
  • McClure
  • K. Moore
  • Watson

The Following Representatives Did Not Vote

  • Achor
  • Andrews
  • M. Berry
  • Eubanks
  • Fortner
  • Holcomb
  • Ladyman
  • Miller
  • J. Moore
  • Wardlaw
  • Speaker Shepherd

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Craighead County Votes to Reduce Funding for Library that Features Sexually Explicit Children’s Books

Library, ,

On Tuesday voters in Craighead County reduced the millage for the public library in Jonesboro.

As we have written repeatedly, the Jonesboro public library has been at the center of multiple controversies for nearly a year and a half — including inappropriately hosting an LGBT Pride display in its children’s library, placing books with sexually-explicit images in its children’s section, and failing to adopt a policy that separates sexual material from children’s content.

As different people have pointed out, some of these books — such as Gender Queer and l8tr, g8tr — contain explicit images or descriptions of teens engaging in sexual acts.

Library officials have stood by their decision to share sexual material with children. The library even posted on Facebook that it isn’t the library’s responsibility to protect kids from obscenity.

Apparently citizens in Craighead County have decided enough is enough.

On Tuesday voters chose to reduce the library’s millage from two mills to one mill.

Library officials in Jonesboro have said the tax cut will “devastate” the library and could force it to close some of its branches, but news reports indicate the library has enjoyed a budget surplus of more than a million dollars for the past three years, and documents from the Craighead County Clerk’s Office show the millage tax provided more than $3.1 million in revenue for the library last year.

Even if the library weren’t spending public tax dollars on obscene children’s books, reducing the millage in Craighead County arguably will help balance the library’s budget and provide relief for taxpayers.

Public libraries are supposed to be for everyone. More and more, Family Council is hearing from people who are deeply troubled by the obscene children’s books that librarians have placed on the shelves of their local libraries this year.

As we keep saying, it’s ridiculous to think that a library isn’t in any way to blame when a child finds pornographic or obscene picture books in its children’s section.

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

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

Unfortunately, many libraries in Arkansas don’t seem to understand that.

Hopefully, Tuesday’s vote in Jonesboro sends a message that public libraries cannot ignore the concerns of the people in their communities.

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

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