ABFFE Leads Booksellers in Urging Veto of Unconstitutional Indiana Bill

On March 13, ABFFE sent a letter to Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels urging him to veto a bill that would require bookstores to register with the state if they intend to sell "sexually explicit materials." Local government officials and zoning boards would be notified of the booksellers’ registration. There would be a $250 fee to register, and failure to do so would be a misdemeanor.

In the letter, ABFFE declares that the vague definition of will have a chilling effect on mainstream novels and other artistic works with sexual content as well as books that provide information about sexuality and health. "Some booksellers will be reluctant to identify themselves as sellers of ‘explicit’ books and magazines and will choose not to carry them, depriving adults and older minors of works they have a First Amendment right to purchase," ABFFE said.

The letter was cosigned by the Great Lakes Booksellers Association (GLBA), 15 independent Indiana booksellers, and Borders.

ABFFE Files Amicus Brief in NSL Case

The fight to restore the safeguards for reader privacy that were eliminated by the USA PATRIOT Act continues in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. The U.S. Attorney General is appealing the decision of a district court in New York, which found that a section of the law that authorizes the FBI to issue National Security Letters (NSLs) to bookstores, libraries and Internet service providers (ISPs) in terrorism investigations violates the First Amendment. On March 17, ABFFE joined the American Library Association, the Association of American Publishers, the American Association of University Professors, the Freedom to Read Foundation, and PEN American Center in filing an amicus brief that supports the fight being waged by an unnamed ISP and the American Civil Liberties Union.

In 2006, following a campaign by booksellers, librarians and others, Congress made a number of changes in the PATRIOT Act. It authorized recipients of secret demands for documents to contact a lawyer, challenge them in court and demand the removal of the gag that accompanies them. However, it made it impossible for a judge to lift a gag if the government insists that secrecy is still necessary. As a result, the government can permanently deny the public any information about the order. The amicus brief argues that a permanent gag violates the First Amendment. The brief was written by Theresa Chmara of Jenner and Block, a member of the ABFFE board.

ABFFE Defends Challenged Books

The Kids’ Right to Read Project (KRRP) reported success in two of three cases this month. A collaboration between ABFFE and the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC), KRRP engages booksellers, librarians, teachers, and others in responding to book censorship incidents in schools and libraries. In the past year, it has confronted challenges and bans involving 35 books in 22 states.

This month, the project opposed challenges to three books: Looking for Alaska by John Green, And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell; and The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Parents in Depew, New York, near Buffalo, challenged Looking for Alaska in the local high school because of its sexual content and graphic language. Joined by Jonathon Welch of Talking Leaves...Books in Buffalo, NY, KRRP sent a letter to the school board opposing the challenges; the board voted unanimously to keep the book in classes.

One parent in Loudoun County, VA, objected to the storyline in And Tango Makes Three, a book about two male penguins parenting an egg, as an attack on families headed by heterosexuals, and the superintendent placed the book on restricted access in elementary school libraries throughout the district, despite two committees’ recommendations that it be kept widely available. KRRP sent a letter to the school board and superintendent urging them to return the book to general circulation. Citing a procedural error, the superintendent lifted all restrictions.

The Kite Runner remains under scrutiny in Burke County, NC, schools following complaints from a community member who objects to sexual violence and graphic language in the book. In direct violation of district policy, the superintendent suspended the book's use throughout the district pending a committee’s review. KRRP mobilized a coalition of six free speech groups and sent a letter opposing the challenges.

ABFFE Condemns Hacker Attacks on Online Bookseller

On January 31, ABFFE condemned efforts by computer hackers to disrupt the operations of an online bookseller, Abunga.com. Abunga.com, which advertises itself as a bookseller that "promotes decency" by refusing to sell "pornography" and other "illicit material," angered the hackers when it announced recently that it would no longer sell Philip Pullman’s The Golden Compass. The book has been criticized by some religious groups as "anti-Christian." According to Abunga.com, the hackers have attempted to disrupt the operation of its Web site through hundreds of attacks, including some that attempted to block access to the books on the site. "People have a right to disagree with the book selection policy of Abunga.com," ABFFE President Chris Finan said. "They have a right to protest that policy. But they do not have a right to try to stop the bookstore from doing business. That is an act of censorship."

Finan said that ABFFE believes that booksellers should offer a wide range of books. But he added that booksellers have a right to decide what books they will sell. If people don’t like the policy of a particular store, they can shop elsewhere. "The First Amendment protects our freedom to choose, and that right applies to booksellers no less than to the public," he said.

-Articles courtesy of Chris Finan, American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression
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