Sacramento City Council adopted an ordinance in 1949 making it unlawful for anyone to give a minor a comic book depicting violence. City Council repealed it Tuesday.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Did you know? Up until Tuesday afternoon, it was illegal in the city of Sacramento to give a kid a comic book.
The City Council repealed the outdated prohibition at its meeting this week.
Adopted in 1949, the city ordinance made it unlawful for anyone to give to a minor any comic book that prominently featured crime or depicted violent acts.
The ban came at a time in American culture when some feared comic books could lead to illiteracy in children—or encourage them to be violent.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Sacramento city councilmembers voted unanimously to repeal the ordinance, which has not been enforced in many years.
Sacramento cartoonist Eben Burgoon led the effort and told ABC10 he sees it as a matter of free speech.
“We wanted to get rid of it and then when we started to see some more freedom of speech issues occurring. Some more graphic novels lately have been become, like, the most banned book across the country,” Burgoon said. “And knowing that this law was on the books, it just felt like– why wait until this turns into a calamity or a problem for a local store or a comic book author like myself? The city loves comics. Why not be a little proactive, get it off the books?”
A similar law in Los Angeles County was ruled unconstitutional in 1959 by the California Supreme Court.
Nowadays, Sacramento boasts an active comic book scene, including an annual comics showcase held at the Crocker Art Museum, called CrockerCon.
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