Huntington Beach Councilmember Gracey Van Der Mark said there are obscene and pornographic books available to children in city libraries and she is asking the City Council to support drafting a new law to screen out the material at its Tuesday, June 20, meeting.
In her request to her council colleagues, Van Der Mark said it has been a problem nationally “in public education that children are being exposed to obscene, and age-inappropriate material by adults, many of whom are educators we have entrusted with our children. Not too long ago, I learned that our city public libraries also provide similar obscene materials to our youth in the form of obscene and at times pornographic children’s books. Our city libraries should not be engaged in infecting our children with obscenity or pornography.”
Van Der Mark is asking that the council direct the city manager to work with the city attorney to draft the ordinance to keep the material from being available to children, including asking for a process to screen new books. The city attorney would evaluate if any books asked to be reviewed can be banned under the First Amendment.
If the City Council approves Van Der Mark’s proposal on Tuesday, the city attorney would be asked to have the draft law ready by August.
Huntington Beach owns five public libraries. Van Der Mark also asked for the city to consider parting ways with the nonprofit American Library Association.
State officials on June 1 sent a letter cautioning local schools against book bans. The letter said the Attorney General’s office could reach out to schools to review the procedures and any books removed.
Van Der Mark did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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