Committee Passes Bill to Address Obscenity in Libraries

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On Monday the Senate Judiciary Committee passed a measure addressing obscene material in libraries across Arkansas.

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 also eliminates exemptions for libraries and schools in the state’s obscenity statute, and it clarifies how library patrons can go about contesting objectionable material at a library.

As we have written before, 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 while failing to adopt a policy that separates sexual material from children’s content.

Librarians have made it clear that they want to be free to share obscene material. 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.

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.

Bills like S.B. 81 help address those problems.

The bill now goes to the Arkansas Senate for a vote.

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

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Arkansas House Passes Measure Protecting Children from Adult Performances

Legislation, , , ,
Above: Rep. Mary Bentley presents S.B. 43 in the Arkansas House of Representatives on Monday, February 6.

On Monday the Arkansas House of Representatives passed a measure to protect children from adult performances.

S.B. 43 by Sen. Gary Stubblefield (R – Branch) and Rep. Mary Bentley (R – Perryville) prohibits adult-oriented performances on public property, with public funding, or in view of minors.

The bill defines “adult-oriented performance” as a sexual performance that includes nudity, sexual activities, or exposure of specific body parts. The bill also contains language about exposure of prosthetic private parts to protect children from explicit drag performances.

S.B. 43 previously prohibited drag performances on public property or in view of children. It was amended in the House committee last week to apply more broadly to sexual performances and to prohibit public funding of those performances.

The bill now goes to the Arkansas Senate for consideration.

You Can Read S.B. 43 Here.

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Committee Passes Bill to Protect Children From Internet Pornography

Decency, , ,

On Tuesday the Senate Insurance and Commerce Committee passed a measure that would help protect children in Arkansas from Internet pornography.

S.B. 66 by Sen. Tyler Dees (R – Siloam Springs) and Rep. Mindy McAlindon (R – Centerton) requires pornographic websites to implement an age verification process to protect children from pornography.

The measure is similar to a law Louisiana recently passed.

S.B. 66 requires pornographic websites to verify users are 18 or older using a government-issued ID or another commercially available method.

In practice, this means pornographic websites would rely on IDs like state driver’s licenses or some sort of third-party system to prevent minors from accessing pornographic material online.

Websites that violate S.B. 66 would be held liable under the law.

Technology has given children unprecedented access to pornography. Among other things, pornography is believed to contribute to mental health problems.

S.B. 66 helps address this problem in Arkansas.

The bill now goes to the entire Arkansas Senate for consideration.

Read S.B. 66 Here.

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