A federal judge ruled last week that parts of an Arkansas law allowing the prosecution of librarians and booksellers for distributing sexually explicit material to minors is unconstitutional.
US District Judge Timothy Brooks ruled that the law was “vaguely worded” and “violates the due process rights of professional librarians and booksellers and the First Amendment rights of library and bookstore patrons.” The law had stipulated that librarians or booksellers who allowed minors to access inappropriate content could face up to one year in prison. It also granted elected officials the authority to determine what content should remain available to minors, a report by the Daily Caller noted.
“The Court therefore concludes that Plaintiffs have established as a matter of law that Section 5 would permit, if not encourage, library committees and local governmental bodies to make censorship decisions based on content or viewpoint, which would violate the First Amendment,” Brooks wrote in his opinion.
The law defined restricted content as material that would “appeal to a prurient interest in sex to minors” or anything the average adult would deem “patently offensive… with respect to what is suitable for minors.” Brooks argued that the law’s wording was too vague and open to multiple interpretations, including whether materials could be placed in adult sections where minors might still be exposed to it.
Arkansas’ efforts to crack down on sexual or harmful content being exposed to minors comes as several other states have passed similar legislation. In 2022, Florida took steps to remove pornographic and violent content from children’s libraries.
Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders defended the law, calling it “common sense.”
“Schools and libraries shouldn’t put obscene material in front of our kids,” Sanders said in a statement to KATV-TV. “I will work with Attorney General Griffin to appeal this ruling and uphold Arkansas law.”
