A bill to make school and public library staff criminally liable for distributing “sexual or gender oriented material” to minors without parental consent died in the Alabama Senate this week.
After hours of filibustering from Sen. Rodger Smitherman (D-Jefferson County), the Senate did not place HB385 on the agenda for Thursday - the final legislative day.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Arnold Mooney (R-Shelby County), would have placed libraries in the same category as “adult-only” stores, movies, and entertainment.
It also would have forced school and public librarians to remove the book or end the behavior within seven days of written notice or face a misdemeanor.
Academic librarian Jessica Hayes said the language in the bill would have banned drag events and silence the voices of trans people.
Bromberg said Alabama’s bill was intended to prohibit drag reading hours at libraries and is “egregiously unconstitutional” among other states that have passed legislation criminalizing librarians for obscene content like Arkansas and Indiana.
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