A federal judge has ruled to temporarily block Arkansas from passing a law allowing officials to prosecute librarians for exposing minors to "harmful" material, including sexual content to minors.
The decision comes after state lawmakers followed the footsteps of several GOP-led regions that have moved to restrict reading materials for students. The new ruling, made by District Judge Timothy Brooks, would go into effect as several library work groups have filed a legal challenge.
Judge Blocks New Arkansas Law
The latter's filing, which would work its way through the court system, alleged that the new law would result in the plaintiffs' First Amendment rights being restricted. Republican Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders was the one who signed the law earlier this year that would have taken effect on Tuesday.
The measure seeks to create a new process to challenge library materials and pave a new way for people to request that books, which are deemed inappropriate, be relocated to areas that kids would not be able to access, as Forbes.
If the new law took effect, it would have made it a criminal offense to give a minor any material considered "harmful knowingly." This includes content related to nudity, sexual content, or what the current community standards consider unsuitable for minors.
Under the measure, if a librarian or bookseller was found to have violated the regulation, they could be charged with a class A misdemeanor, which is punishable by up to one year in prison and a $2,500 fine.
Supporters of the law, however, have argued that it would work to protect young children from obscene material. On the other hand, the plaintiffs claimed that the measure would only force bookstores and libraries to stop offering any books that risk broadly running against the law or ban children from coming in altogether.
In Brooks' ruling, he rejected a motion made by the defendants of the law, which included prosecuting attorneys for the state, who sought to dismiss the case. According to Fox News, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Arkansas, which represents some of the plaintiffs in the case, applauded the court's ruling.
Providing 'Harmful' Material to Minors
The latter argued that the absence of a preliminary injunction would have jeopardized First Amendment rights within the state. In a statement, the executive director of the Arkansas ACLU, Holly Dickson, said that the question that needs to be asked is, "Do Arkansans still legally have access to reading materials?"
He argued that the judicial system has once again worked to defend highly valued liberties within the state. Now, Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin said that he would have his office review the judge's opinion and continue to defend the law.
Last year, the number of attempts to ban or restrict books across the United States was recorded to be the highest in the last two decades that the American Library Association has been tracking such efforts.
Nate Coulter, the executive director of Central Arkansas Library System, said that the judge's decision recognized that the new law was censorship, which violates the Constitution and works to wrongly malign librarians, said the Associated Press.
