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Not sure what constitutes "obscene matter?" Neither are the West Virginia Republicans who wrote a new bill seeking to prosecute educators for spreading it.
Republicans in the West Virginia House of Delegates have overwhelmingly voted in favor of a bill that would remove protections for librarians and other educators, opening the door for them to be prosecuted for showing "obscene matter" to minors.
House Bill 4654 focuses on "removing bona fide schools, public libraries, and museums from the list of exemptions from criminal liability relating to distribution and display to minor of obscene matter." The bill does not define "obscene matter" beyond what is in the state code, and does not clarify who would determine what constitutes obscenity.
“Obscene matter” is vaguely defined under state code as material that “an average person, applying community standards, would find depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexually explicit conduct.” It also encompasses material that “a reasonable person would find, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value.”
The American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia said on Twitter/X that lawmakers advanced the bill, voting 85-12 on Friday, while "citing concerns about pedophile librarians." Though it is not an explicit book ban, the organization noted that it is "designed to create confusion for educators about what kinds of materials can be taught or displayed."
Obscenity allegations are often used to ban books that include LGBTQ+ topics, sex education, and race, according to the American Library Association, which also found that 2023 was a record-breaking year for book bans. Nearly 700 attempts to censor library materials were made in the first eight months of 2023, their midyear report found, marking a 20 percent increase from the first eight months of 2022.
Those in violation of West Virginia's obscenity laws are subject to up to $25,000 in fines and up to five years in prison. The bill now advances to the state House of Representatives and Senate for consideration, both of which are dominated by Republicans.
Ash Orr, a transgender activist in the state who runs a small community library comprised mostly of banned books, said on social media that they recently "upgraded and expanded" their collection "to push back" against the bill, which they called "a book ban aimed at harming LGBTQ+ & other marginalized communities."
"Legislators would rather focus on harming marginalized communities instead of addressing real issues impacting our state," they wrote.
Orr's library is accepting donations via its Amazon wishlist.
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