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New Arkansas Harmful-to-Minors Law ChallengedThe Arkansas Library Association joined forces with the American Civil Liberties Union and other interest groups June 23 to file suit in federal district court in Little Rock and challenge a new Arkansas law that would force libraries and bookstores to cover and segregate all material deemed harmful to minors.“Our access as adults could be limited to that of a 6-year-old because a bookseller or librarian is so concerned about prosecution, they’d be afraid to have a certain book, much less to display it,” ACLU of Arkansas Executive Director Rita Sklar said in a June 24 Associated Press report. “They’d have to create a whole section for adults only, and there’s a stigma that goes with that.” The law, signed by Gov. Mike Huckabee March 28 and scheduled to go into effect July 16, specifically exempts items if the “lower two-thirds (2/3) of the material is not exposed to view and segregated in a manner that physically prohibits access to the material by minors.” The lawsuit names Huckabee as a defendant, along with Arkansas Attorney General Mike Beebe and all the state’s district attorneys. Other plaintiffs include the Freedom to Read Foundation, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, and the Association of American Publishers. Posted June 30, 2003. |
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