Arkansas Book-Banning Law Declared Unconstitutional

The US District Court for the Western District of Arkansas today declared Arkansas Act 372 unconstitutional in an opinion indicating that the law is overbroad and void for vagueness, and permanently enjoined its enforcement.

The Arkansas law would have subjected librarians and bookstore owners to criminal prosecution for making materials available on library and bookstore shelves that could be deemed harmful to younger minors and conceivably available for younger minors to view, and mandated a library book challenge procedure in public libraries whereby individuals may challenge books based on “appropriateness” (an undefined term not based on constitutional standards). In addition, review boards would have been allowed or even invited to engage in viewpoint and content-based discrimination. The ruling came in response to the suit filed by a coalition of plaintiffs that included local Arkansas libraries, as well as authors, publishers, booksellers, librarians, and readers.
more at: https://publishers.org/news/arkansas-book-banning-law-declared-unconstitutional/

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