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A federal judge in Iowa has temporarily blocked a state law banning books with sexual content from school libraries, noting that there is no evidence such books caused widespread problems and imposed a “pall of orthodoxy.”
“The law is incredibly broad and has resulted in the removal of hundreds of books from school libraries, including, among others, nonfiction history books, classic works of fiction, Pulitzer Prize winning contemporary novels, books that regularly appear on Advanced Placement exams, and even books designed to help students avoid being victimized by sexual assault,” Judge Stephen Lochner wrote in his decision to approve a preliminary injunction.
“The sweeping restrictions in Senate File 496 are unlikely to satisfy the First Amendment under any standard of scrutiny and thus may not be enforced while the case is pending. Indeed, the Court has been unable to locate a single case upholding the constitutionality of a school library restriction even remotely similar to Senate File 496.”