American LibrariesSearch American Libraries  |
||
Site Navigation
Left Sidebar ItemsOnline Features
|
||
Phoenix Mayor Pushes for Public Library to Require FiltersThe mayor and city council of Phoenix, Arizona, want to require filters on all city library computers following the August 11 arrest of Charlton Glenn Ward, 33, a paroled sex offender who was in possession of child pornography that he admitted downloading at the Phoenix Public Library.“The fact that it is legal for someone as an individual to view pornography doesn’t mean that there is a constitutional obligation for the city, as a public entity, to provide everyone access to it,” Mayor Phil Gordon said in the August 20 Phoenix Arizona Republic. Gordon is backed by Maricopa Attorney Rick Romley and state Senator Mark Anderson (R-Mesa), who offered to sponsor legislation on the city’s behalf. PPL Director Toni Garvey said the library filters online content for users under 17, but allows adults to disable the filter if they choose. She added that library staff would call police if they saw an adult patron viewing child pornography. Not everyone is siding with the mayor on the issue, which has been the subject of several editorials and letters to the editor of the Republic. ACLU of Arizona Executive Director Eleanor Eisenberg said she was “fairly confident” her organization would get involved if city council were to enact any restrictions, and state Senator Bill Brotherton (D-Phoenix) suggested that “some people were pushing it for political purposes, to get some ink.” Tim Blake, chairman of the library board, warned in the August 29 Republic that the library could be sued if it blocked too much access. “I’d hate for us to overreact, as ugly as it sounds, from what people had on the computer screens.” Posted September 3, 2004. |
Right Sidebar
|
|
