The so-called READER Act by state Rep. Jared Patterson, a Frisco Republican, is set to take effect soon, and booksellers are worried.
A popular talking point among conservative officials and voters is the possibility of school libraries possessing pornographic material.Claudia Vega, founder of Whose Books in Oak Cliff, once worked as an educator in Dallas ISD. She knows how important it is to encourage kids to pick up books, particularly sinceVega fears that instilling that love of books for some students could get trickier thanks to a new Texas law set to take effect on Sept. 1.
But critics argue that such requirements may serve as pretexts to remove titles that conservative lawmakers don’t like, such as those dealing with issues of sexuality and race. A coalition of booksellers, publishers and authors filed a lawsuit in July asking a federal court in Austin to block the law. The plaintiffs are arguing that the so-called READER Act forces sellers to comply with vague, arbitrary and subjective government standards.
And while HB 900 could stop some harmful and obscene material from reaching school shelves, it “also prohibits a wide swath of constitutionally protected material,” the lawsuit contends.“It's going to be really challenging and impossible for some stores, based on their size and their capacity, to keep up with the requirements that House Bill 900 is laying out,” she said. “Which is unfortunate, because it's going to hurt small businesses.
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