News
2006-03-10
Gay materials
targeted in Oklahoma library bill
Local libraries
could be burdened by guidelines adopted by an Oklahoma
house panel Wednesday to require materials containing
Local libraries
could be burdened by guidelines adopted by an Oklahoma
house panel Wednesday to require materials containing
sexually explicit or gay themes to be removed from
general reading areas for children and young adults,
library officials said. The bill, sponsored by Republican
representative Sally Kern, would withhold state funds from
public libraries that do not place the materials in a
special area of the library.
The guidelines have been adopted by the state's
two largest library systems, Oklahoma City and Tulsa,
but officials said small libraries may have a hard
time complying. "We're really concerned about it,"
said Jeanie Johnson, president of the Oklahoma Library
Association. "The idea that we would restrict books
really restricts freedoms."
Preliminary estimates indicate it will cost
$826,000 to renovate small public libraries to create
special areas for the material, Johnson said. There
are more than 200 public and special libraries in Oklahoma.
Bill Young, spokesman for the state Department
of Libraries, said the regulations tie compliance to
the distribution of library funds by the state's
seven-member library board. "We don't want to overburden
smaller libraries. But we will follow the law if it is the
law," Young said.
Kern said she wants a special shelving policy to
shield children from language and behaviors they are
not mature enough to understand. "It's protecting the
future of our children," she said. "Sex is not bad.
Sex is not wrong. It's the misuse of it."
Kern said the measure will encourage libraries
to ensure that parents know the content of children's
books before a child reads them. She said children
exposed to sexual material without parental guidance often
engage in risky behavior later.
"I'm not a Nazi. I believe in free speech," Kern
said. "But for every right we have, there is a responsibility."
The measure passed the house appropriations and
budget committee 14–4 and was sent to the full
house for a vote. Democratic representative Ray
McCarter debated against the measure. "What she's trying to
do is put these rules in where they can't be
accomplished," McCarter said. He said there is no
practical way to segregate books from reading areas
because of space limitations. "We'll just shut down a whole
bunch of small libraries out there." He also said it
is not the legislature's role to decide what books
children should have access to. "Their parents are the
ones who should be making these decisions for them. We
shouldn't be shoving things down their throat."
Last year Kern asked the Oklahoma City
Metropolitan Library Commission to place the book
King and King and similar books in the
adult section. She made the request after receiving
complaints from two constituents who objected to the book's
content. King and King is a children's tale about a
prince who shuns princesses in favor of another prince. (AP)
Click here to follow The Advocate on Twitter.
Page 1 of 1