Virginia Rejects Statewide Filter Mandate

http://www.ala.org/ala/alonline/currentnews/newsarchive/2005abc/february2005a/virginia.cfm

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Posted February 25, 2005.

Virginia Rejects Statewide Filter Mandate

The Virginia General Assembly’s Senate Finance Committee has failed to advance a House bill that would have required public libraries to install internet filters on their computers. Money to pay for the filters was rejected by a 4–4 vote February 16; a majority was required to move the bill to the Senate floor.

“I work in computers and yes, the filters are not 100% effective, but not having them is 100% ineffective,” said Assembly Delegate Samuel A. Nixon Jr. (R-Chesterfield), the bill’s sponsor, according to a February 18 Associated Press report.

Sen. R. Edward Houck (D-Spotsylvania), a public school administrator, pointed out that filters on his school’s computers had blocked the Code of Virginia “because some of our laws have sexually explicit language.”

An amendment to allow churches to fund the filters was also rejected. “Why not put the challenge to our faith community to say we don’t want this [pornography] on our computers?” said Sen. Emmett W. Hanger Jr. (R-Augusta), who proposed the amendment.

Posted February 25, 2005.