Advocacy

The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression has joined the ACLU, the American Library Association, more than 80 civil liberties, government reform, and digital advocacy groups, and several companies in protesting the National Security Agency’s surveillance of the telephone records and Internet activity of American citizens.

A week after Colorado booksellers challenged a law restricting the display of magazines about marijuana, the State of Colorado agreed not to enforce the law. Lawyers for the state acknowledged that the law, which would have forced retailers to display any magazine that focuses on marijuana or marijuana businesses behind the counter, was unconstitutional.

Following its overwhelming passage by the U.S. Senate, the Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013 awaits consideration in the U.S. House of Representatives. With no firm timeline yet set by House leadership, ABA is urging its members to write to their representatives in support of the bill, especially if their congressperson is a member of the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Income from the online and live auctions of children’s book art held in conjunction with this year’s BEA increased by 50 percent over the previous year’s auction results. Proceeds from the auctions support ABFFE’s defense of the free speech rights of young readers.

Tattered Cover Book Store, Boulder Book Store, ABFFE, MPIBA, and several newsstands filed suit on Monday to block enforcement of a Colorado law that violates the First Amendment rights of retailers to display magazines that focus on marijuana and of customers to browse those publications.

The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression has received an initial royalty check from sales of the Coffee House Press title Read This! Handpicked Favorites From America’s Indie Bookstores, compiled and edited by Micawber’s Books owner Hans Weyandt.

The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression has released several videos of bestselling authors Sherman Alexie and Laurie Halse Anderson discussing how to fight the censorship of young adult books.

Booksellers attending BEA who would like to discuss key advocacy issues affecting their businesses with ABA staff are encouraged to contact Senior Public Policy Analyst David Grogan this week to schedule an appointment.

Booksellers are reminded that the deadline to respond to the class action settlement notice in the federal antitrust lawsuit over rapidly rising Visa and MasterCard credit card swipe fees is next Tuesday, May 28.

In his bimonthly letter to members, ABA CEO Oren Teicher offers congratulations to booksellers for their years of hard work that led to the recent passage of the Main Street Fairness Act in the Senate, but he notes, with opposition to the bill ratcheting up in the House, more action is required.

This week, ABA CEO Oren Teicher encouraged booksellers to contact their U.S. representatives to urge them to support the Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013 (H.R.684),  which faces a difficult fight in the House.

The deadline for booksellers to respond to the class-action settlement notice in the federal antitrust lawsuit over rapidly rising Visa and MasterCard credit card swipe fees is May 28, 2013, less than two weeks away.

A Glen Ellyn, Illinois, school district has banned Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower from eighth grade classrooms, but parents, teachers, students, and the Kids’ Right to Read Project are asking the district to reconsider its decision.

Following bipartisan approval by the U.S. Senate, the Marketplace Fairness Act will now be considered by the U.S. House of Representatives, where all signs point to a tough fight in the coming months.

On Monday, May 6, the U.S. Senate passed the Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013 by a vote of 69 to 27. The legislation would give states the authority to require remote sellers to collect and remit sales tax in the state, so long as the seller does $1 million or more in remote gross sales annually. The bill now moves to the U.S. House of Representatives.