Federal judge rules parts of Arkansas law that targets librarians, booksellers is unconstitutional

A federal judge in Arkansas has rejected sections of a state law that would have allowed librarians and booksellers to be criminally charged with providing “harmful” materials to minors.

The law, signed by Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders last year, would have held librarians and book vendors criminally liable for knowingly making material that would appeal “to a prurient interest in sex," available to minors. The questionable material would also have to lack “serious literary, scientific, medical, artistic, or political value” and be “patently offensive” under community standards.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks ruled Monday that parts of the law were unconstitutional because it made librarians and booksellers "agents of censorship," according to the Associated Press.

“The law deputizes librarians and booksellers as the agents of censorship; when motivated by the fear of jail time, it is likely they will shelve only books fit for young children and segregate or discard the rest,” Brooks wrote in his ruling.

Only the two sections of the law that made “furnishing a harmful item to a minor," a criminal misdemeanor, and would have required local governments to create oversight boards to review questionable material, were struck down, per The Guardian. 

Supporters of the law argue the legislation is common-sense, but opponents said the law could prompt libraries and booksellers to no longer carry questionable titles. 

“This was an attempt to ‘thought police,’ and this victory over totalitarianism is a testament to the courage of librarians, booksellers, and readers who refused to bow to intimidation,” said Holly Dickson, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas.

Huckabee Sanders and Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin have vowed to appeal the ruling.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.