The Republican-led West Virginia House of Representatives passed a bill on Friday that would criminally prosecute librarians who show obscene material to minors.
After nearly an hour of debate, delegates voted 85 to 12, mostly along party lines, to adopt Bill 4654which removes the exemptions from criminal liability for schools, museums and public libraries in connection with the dissemination and display of obscene content to minors.
Lawmakers rejected an amendment by Rep. Mike Pushkin (D-Kanawha) that would have expanded the exemptions to teachers. He said the amendment was intended to protect teachers, especially health teachers, from prosecution when they teach their curriculum.
House Minority Leader Sean Hornbuckle (D-Cabell) opposed the bill, saying it would impose costs on counties and libraries if obscenity cases went to court.
“I also trust our parents,” he said. “I trust our parents to make sure they know what their children are doing. When it comes to our schools, they should put the authority in their hands. Because this is still vague, I’m afraid that — what happens when we teach history? The Holocaust. We’ve all seen these graphic images about the Holocaust. What about slavery? These are questions we don’t have answers to.”
Republican supporters of the bill countered opponents’ arguments that it would be a “de facto book ban” and would encourage librarians to check out or not stock material that some might find offensive rather than risk possible criminal charges.
“This bill does not ban books or censor free speech,” said Republican Rep. Elliott Pritt of Fayette. “Those books can still be purchased privately by people if they want to, as long as they are adults. We are not saying they have to be taken off the market. What this bill does, however, is make obscene, pornographic or sexually explicit materials unavailable to children in public, taxpayer-funded spaces.”
During a Public hearing on the draft law at the end of JanuarySupporters read aloud explicit sexual material they said could be found in school libraries. Opponents of the bill, including several librarians, said the bill would expose libraries to potentially costly prosecutions.
In a speech to the House Judiciary Committee On Monday, lead sponsor Del. Brandon Steele (R-Raleigh) called libraries “havens for pedophiles” where people who expose children to obscene content must be held accountable.
Librarians may face fines of up to $25,000 or five years in prison under the state’s obscenity laws against minors.
The bill will now be submitted to the Senate for consideration.
