The Alabama House of Representatives voted 72-28 for the bill that now moves to the Alabama Senate. The legislation comes amid a growing concern that libraries are allowing sexually charged material on to their shelves. Conservatives in a number states also say libraries should not allow so-called drag queen story readings.
“This is an effort to protect children. It is not a Democrat bill. It’s not a Republican bill. It’s a people bill to try to protect children,” Republican Rep. Arnold Mooney, the bill's sponsor, said during debate.
The Alabama bill removes the existing exemption for public libraries in the state's obscenity law. It also expands the definition of prohibited sexual conduct to include any “sexual or gender oriented conduct" at K-12 public schools or public libraries that “exposes minors to persons who are dressed in sexually revealing, exaggerated, or provocative clothing or costumes, or are stripping, or engaged in lewd or lascivious dancing, presentations, or activities.”
Under the process laid out in the bill, a librarian in a public library or public K-12 school could face a misdemeanor charge if the librarian fails to remove material or cease conduct that violates the state’s obscenity law within seven days of receiving a written complaint from the public.
Opponents argued that proposal would threaten librarians with criminal prosecution at the whims of community members who disagreed with their decisions on books and programs.
Republican Rep. David Faulkner, who worked on a substitute version of the bill that was approved by the House, disputed that the bill could have wide-ranging impact. He said courts have long interpreted what is obscene material.
The legislation removes immunity that public libraries had under the obscenity law, but limits when prosecutions could occur, Faulkner said.
“It's only going to be a misdemeanor, and it’s only if, after knowing about the material, they didn’t do anything about it," he said.
