A federal appeals court this week declined to reconsider a ruling that blocked part of a Texas law requiring book sellers to rate their own works for sexual content before selling to schools in the state.
罢耻别蝉诲补测鈥檚 from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals effectively keeps key portions of 鈥� known as the Restricting Explicit and Adult-Designated Educational Resources, or READER, Act 鈥� from going into effect.
鈥淗B 900 is a disastrous bill that would censor books, that would impose censorial regimes on publishers, that would effectively label books as inappropriate for kids, and would have a chilling effect on authors and really impose on student鈥檚 right to access important literature,鈥� said Elly Brinkley, a legal fellow with the free speech advocacy organization PEN America.
Booksellers sued the state last year shortly after HB 900 was signed into law, saying it violated the First Amendment and was too pricy and unworkable. A three-judge panel agreed in January, and the full appeals court upheld that decision in a 9-8 ruling.
Brinkley said a similar law was .
鈥淭hese laws are sort of patently absurd and, on their face are antithetical to First Amendment values,鈥� she said.
The dissenting judges argued 鈥渘othing in the First Amendment prevents states from taking steps to shield children鈥� from sexual content.
鈥淪tates have a profound interest in protecting the innocence of children from various adult activities. We don鈥檛 let children buy alcohol. We don鈥檛 let them gamble. They鈥檙e not supposed to smoke,鈥� the judges wrote. 鈥淲e also shield them from sexually explicit materials.鈥�
The bill鈥檚 author, state Rep. Jared Patterson, said in a that the ruling was 鈥渄isappointing.鈥�
鈥淎ny judge claiming the State of Texas cannot require government vendors to ensure they don鈥檛 send sexually explicit content to children in our schools is just plain wrong,鈥� he wrote.
He urged Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to immediately appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
