Two Michigan chapters of the American Family Association are using the petition process to get filter-mandate initiatives on local ballots for a February 22 special election. The Holland Area Family Association began gathering signatures November 18 for a ballot measure requiring blocking software on all but one of the Herrick District Library’s computers. That same day, Holland trustees reaffirmed their policy of relying on parental permission rather than blocking software.
Holland AFA chapter president James Rozeboom said in the November 19 Holland Sentinel that citizens should decide whether libraries “should stop offering free access to pornography in public buildings where adults and young children share restrooms and other facilities.”
On November 19, the Hudsonville AFA chapter submitted for City Attorney Dick Wendt’s approval a draft petition with the same provisions as Holland’s. Hudsonville library Director Melissa Huisman told American Libraries, “We’re not sure where [the AFA] is coming from” since her library filters children’s Internet access and issues all patrons smart cards embedded with their filtering preferences.
Posted November 29, 1999.