Free Expression

On Tuesday, November 16, a federal court in Little Rock, Arkansas, struck down the provisions of an Arkansas Code that criminalized the display of books that are inappropriate to younger minors but constitutionally protected as to older minors and adults. "Our victory in Arkansas is great news," said Chris Finan, president of the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE), one of the plaintiffs in the case.

This week, the sponsors of the Campaign for Reader Privacy (CRP), www.readerprivacy.org, vowed to continue their efforts to amend Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act. Last week's re-election of President George W. Bush almost ensures there will be a major battle next year over the reauthorization of Section 215, as well as other controversial sections of the act that are set to expire on December 31.

On Thursday, October 21, Common Cause of Delaware, a nonprofit citizens lobbying organization dedicated to government reform and accountability, held a citizen's public meeting on the Safety and Freedom Ensured Act (S. 1709, SAFE Act) at Ninth Street Book Store in Wilmington, Delaware. The SAFE Act seeks to amend provisions of the USA Patriot Act, including Section 215, which gives law enforcement officials broad authority to demand that libraries or bookstores turn over books, records, papers, and documents.

On Thursday, October 21, the Arkansas Supreme Court rejected the Arkansas Attorney General's contention that amendments to an Arkansas statute restricting the "display" of material that is "harmful to minors" applied to materials only harmful to more mature minors. The Supreme Court's opinion means that, when the case goes back to the federal judge, it will most likely be struck down on the grounds that it is unconstitutional.

Although the formal presentation to Congress of thousands of Campaign for Reader Privacy petitions took place on September 29, bookstores that still have signed petitions should send them to the American Booksellers Association. "We'll be doing a supplementary presentation to Congress" said ABA COO Oren Teicher, "so, even after the deadline, if bookstores still have signed petitions, they should send in what they've got.

On Thursday, October 21, Common Cause of Delaware, a nonprofit citizens lobbying organization dedicated to government reform and accountability, will hold a citizen's public meeting on the Safety and Freedom Ensured Act (S. 1709, SAFE Act) at Ninth Street Book Store in Wilmington, Delaware. The SAFE Act looks to amend provisions of the USA Patriot Act, including Section 215, which gives law enforcement officials broad authority to demand that libraries or bookstores turn over books, records, papers, and documents.

On Tuesday, October 5, Florida's Tampa Tribune published an editorial entitled "The Patriot Act's License to Snoop Causes Unjustified Anxiety " that began by stating, "Fears that the Patriot Act allows government agents to spy on everyone's library records are wildly overblown. All the three-year-old law does is open a variety of semiprivate files to scrutiny by agents conducting espionage investigations.