Alabama House passes bill to ban sexually explicit books from children’s sections

The Alabama House passed legislation Thursday to ban sexually explicit books from the children’s sections of public libraries.

For now, HB385 calls for anyone found violating this proposed legislation will be given seven days to remove any inappropriate books containing nudity or sex from its children’s section or else face misdemeanor charges. This applies to public and school libraries and allows any person to report inappropriate books to officials and the district attorney.

The Alabama Library Association, ALLA, condemned the vote in a statement, claiming it is an example of “government overreach” that “robs parents of their rights, and would have a chilling effect on free speech by potentially incarcerating librarians.”

“The message is clear — don’t arrest Alabama librarians and stop turning our libraries into political battlefields,” the ALLA said in a statement to the Washington Examiner. “Montgomery politicians are now seeking to criminalize librarians simply for doing their jobs. Under HB385, even with the revised language, public and school librarians could be penalized or even arrested by prosecutors eager to follow the demands of Alabama Republican Chair John Wahl, an Alabama Public Library Service Board member, who’s willing to jail librarians for having books he considers unacceptable.”

However, Wahl confirmed to the Washington Examiner that he was not involved in authoring the bill, which was sponsored instead by state Rep. Arnold Mooney. Wahl did confirm that he has heard concerns from parents on both sides of the aisle about the books in libraries targeting children. He interpreted the bill as an attempt to “keeping divisive concepts out of our libraries” and accused the ALLA of politicizing the issue.

“No librarian needs to fear this law or any other consequences if they are doing their job and looking out for their customers,” Wahl said. “The real question is, why would anyone oppose it?”

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All House Democratic members voted against the bill.

This legislation comes as states across the nation are making efforts to examine the materials children are exposed to in libraries. It will next be voted on by the Senate, which is also controlled by a majority of Republican lawmakers.