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RandySF

(57,632 posts)
Thu Mar 9, 2023, 06:12 PM Mar 2023

Arkansas committee approves amended bill to hold libraries accountable for 'obscene' material

A proposed Arkansas law that would open the door to criminal liability for the distribution of “obscene” content by school and public libraries passed a legislative panel and will go to the House floor after being amended.

Senate Bill 81 would add the loaning of library materials to the statute governing the possession and distribution of obscene material. Arkansas’ definition of obscenity is “that to the average person, applying contemporary community standards, the dominant theme of the material taken as a whole appeals to prurient interest,” with prurient meaning overtly sexual.

The bill would remove schools and public libraries from the part of Arkansas law that exempts them from prosecution “for disseminating a writing, film, slide, drawing, or other visual reproduction that is claimed to be obscene.”

The House Judiciary Committee rejected the bill Tuesday with a split voice vote after three hours of discussion and testimony. The committee approved the bill Thursday with another split voice vote after adopting an amendment to the text that replaced the word “removal” with “relocation” several times.

Material that has been challenged and determined inappropriate for minors would have to be moved to a section of the library that children cannot access, rather than simply removed from the library, said Rep. Justin Gonzales (R-Okolona), the bill’s House sponsor.




https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/arkansas-committee-approves-amended-bill-hold-libraries-accountable-obscene-material

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Arkansas committee approves amended bill to hold libraries accountable for 'obscene' material (Original Post) RandySF Mar 2023 OP
I lived there for a while and HATED it, although I did know some nice people. . . BigDemVoter Mar 2023 #1
Does the Arkansas GQP know that I40 is littered with sinkingfeeling Mar 2023 #2
Does that include the Bible? keithbvadu2 Mar 2023 #3

BigDemVoter

(4,149 posts)
1. I lived there for a while and HATED it, although I did know some nice people. . .
Thu Mar 9, 2023, 06:30 PM
Mar 2023

What really bothers me about this asinine bill is HOW are these yokels going to decide what's obscene?

And furthermore, these same ass clowns have no problem with their kids having access to guns. . .

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