California advances ban on library book bans for targeting LGBTQ, sexual content

(The Center Square) - The California legislature is advancing a bill that would ban library governing bodies from banning a book or requiring that a book be purchased. As noted by the state legislature’s analysis, most ban requests in California and nationwide target “books accessible to minors that include LGBTQ themes or sexual content.”

The bill would also ban library governance bodies’ decisions on librarians’ programming decisions for events or displays.

Notably, the bill does not apply to libraries’ maintenance or deaccession policies, suggesting that local library governance boards can still require books be deacessed — that is, books can be still be removed for a wide range of content-neutral reasons such as there being multiple copies of a book in the library or at nearby libraries, damage, or due to being outdated.

“AB 1825, the California Freedom to Read Act, protects the fundamental right of access to diverse and inclusive books and library materials,” wrote bill author Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi in support of the bill.

The Senate Judiciary Committee, which just passed the bill, noted some recent policies adopted by the City of Huntington Beach in Southern California that the bill would invalidate.

“In Huntington Beach, the City Council required librarians at the Huntington Beach Central Library to place children’s books that ‘contain content of a sexual nature’ into a restricted adult section; titles reviewed as potentially dangerous include Everyone Poops and several American Girl books,” wrote the Senate Judiciary Committee. “The Huntington Beach City Council is also moving forward with a 21-member ‘community library board’ to ‘review books for sexual content to be either removed from the children’s section or not purchased at all.’”

Opposition focused on the need for parents to be able to maintain input over material for children.

“Parents across the state are discovering that their child’s school libraries are riddled with obscene content, and parents are beginning to call for the removal of these books,” wrote Real Impact, a Christian grassroots organization, in a sample letter to legislators.

“The bill states, ‘The discretion to determine the content of materials in public libraries shall not be exercised in a manner that discriminates against or excludes materials... on the basis that the materials may include sexual content, unless that content qualifies as obscene under United States Supreme Court precedent,’ wrote Real Impact in its opposition to the bill. “This does not allow any room for the community to provide input on library materials but imposes standards that may not align with the local community.”

Last year, librarians at a Davis, California library ejected an in-progress forum on policies regarding transgender high school athletes, claiming the content of the forum was disrespectful and thus in violation of the library’s code of conduct. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, First Amendment nonprofit legal organization, argued the event was protected by the Constitution under free speech and successfully got the library to allow the event to be rescheduled.

“Amid the culture wars, it's important for public libraries to stick to their mission of providing the public with access to a wide range of ideas and information. Government officials need to remember that the First Amendment prohibits them from purging library collections of ideas they disagree with,” said Aaron Terr, FIRE’s Director of Public Advocacy, to The Center Square with regards to the Davis incident and AB 1825. “You shouldn’t be able to tell which political party is in power by scanning a library shelf.”

AB 1825 passed the Assembly and now faces the California Senate Committee on Appropriations.