HELP THEM FIND OUT WHO DID THIS. HAPPENING THIS MORNING, SACRAMENTO CITY LEADERS WILL TAKE AIM AT A DECADES OLD LAW BANNING COMIC BOOKS FROM BEING DISTRIBUTED TO CHILDREN. ONE CITY LEADER SAYS REPEALING THIS LAW IS IMPORTANT TO AFFIRM FREE SPEECH AND SUPPORT THE GROWTH OF SACRAMENTO’S COMIC CON EVENTS. KCRA 3’S MIKE TESELLE IS OUTSIDE CITY HALL. MIKE, I HAD NO IDEA THIS EVEN EXISTED. YEAH, I’M RIGHT IN THE SAME BOAT WITH YOU, DEIRDRE AND TEO. AND WHETHER IT’S BATMAN OR THE MARVEL UNIVERSE, WHETHER YOU’RE 15 OR 50 YEARS OLD, COMIC BOOKS, EITHER IN PRINT LIKE THESE OR ON THE BIG SCREEN IN HOLLYWOOD, A BIG PART OF A LOT OF PEOPLE’S LIVES. WHICH BRINGS US TO A 76 YEAR OLD LAW HERE IN SACRAMENTO THAT DEIRDRE, LIKE YOU SAID, I DIDN’T EVEN KNOW EXISTED. DID YOU KNOW THAT BACK IN 1949, SACRAMENTO CITY LEADERS PASSED A LAW THAT ESSENTIALLY BANNED THE DISTRIBUTION OF ANY COMIC BOOKS DEPICTING ANY TYPE OF CRIME TO CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF 18, MEANING THAT THIS ORDINANCE LEGALLY JEOPARDIZES LIBRARIES, BOOKSTORES, AND EVEN CONVENTIONS LIKE COMIC CON HERE IN SACRAMENTO THAT OFFER COMIC BOOKS TO KIDS. AND EVEN THOUGH THE LAW HASN’T BEEN ENFORCED IN DECADES, TODAY, TWO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS SAY ENOUGH’S ENOUGH. THEY’RE PROPOSING A REPEAL OF THIS ANTIQUATED LAW AND THE CREATION OF A NEW SACRAMENTO COMIC BOOK WEEK TO HIGHLIGHT THE CREATIVE SPACE OF COMIC BOOKS. YOU KNOW, THIS IS A SLAM DUNK FROM MY POINT OF VIEW. I’VE BEEN READING COMICS MY WHOLE LIFE. I’M A BIG FAN. YOU KNOW, THIS IS, YOU KNOW, AN AREA WE SHOULD BE CELEBRATING AND INVESTING IN, NOT TRYING TO, SUPPRESS. SO WHAT IS HAPPENING THIS MORNING IS IN SACRAMENTO’S LAW AND LEGISLATION COMMITTEE. COUNCIL MEMBERS PHIL AND KATIE MAPLE. THEY’RE GOING TO PROPOSE THE START OF THE PROCESS TO REPEAL THIS COMIC BOOK BAN AND TO OFFICIALLY MAKE IT LEGAL AGAIN, AT LEAST TECHNICALLY, TO DISTRIBUTE COMIC BOOKS DEPICTING CRIME TO CHILDREN HERE WITHIN CITY LIMITS. LIVE IN SACRAMENTO, MIKE TESELLE KCRA THREE NEWS. THAT IS LITERALLY I HAD NO IDEA. I WONDER IF THEY HAVE EVER SAID NOPE. SORRY KID, I CAN’T SELL IT TO YOU. WHO KNOWS, MAYBE NOT. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU MIKE. APPRECIATE IT. HEY, IF SUCCESSFUL, THIS PROPOSAL WOULD ALSO DESIGNATE THE THIRD WEEK OF SEPTEMBER TO BE SACRAMENTO COMIC BOOK WEEK. SO THEY’RE GOING ALL IN. WE NEEDED, LIKE, THE WORD BAM.
Sacramento leaders take aim at a 76-year-old comic book ban
Updated: 10:56 AM PST Nov 18, 2025
Did you know that is technically illegal to distribute most comic books within the city of Sacramento — from Batman to the Marvel Universe — to children who are under the age of 18?That is why two Sacramento City Council members are proposing the repeal of an antiquated, 76-year-old law that is still on the books.”For me, it’s a slam dunk,” said Sacramento Councilmember Phil Pluckebaum. “It’s been sitting on the books since 1949 pretty much unenforced and we are looking to clean up bits of code we don’t need anymore.”Passed in 1949, City Code item 9.12.010 states that “it is unlawful for any person to distribute…for use by persons under the age of eighteen years any book…commonly known as ‘comic book’ in which there is prominently featured an account of crime, and which depicts… the commission of the crimes of arson, assault with caustic chemicals, assault with a deadly weapon, burglary, kidnapping, torture, mayhem, murder, rape, robbery, theft or voluntary manslaughter.” The ordinance essentially jeopardizes comic bookstores, libraries and conventions held in Sacramento. “There are so many things across the country in terms of book banning and freedom of speech and this is our opportunity to reaffirm freedom in this fun space,” Pluckebaum said. “While this maybe isn’t the highest priority issue facing the city right now, but it is definitely an easy one for us to support.”This proposal, which is being presented at Tuesday’s Law and Legislation Committee meeting, also seeks to show support for creative arts by designating the third week of September as “Sacramento Comic Book Week.””This is more than a clean up of our rolls, it highlights what the community is doing in this creative space,” added the councilmember.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
Did you know that is technically illegal to distribute most comic books within the city of Sacramento — from Batman to the Marvel Universe — to children who are under the age of 18?
That is why two Sacramento City Council members are proposing the repeal of an antiquated, 76-year-old law that is still on the books.
“For me, it’s a slam dunk,” said Sacramento Councilmember Phil Pluckebaum. “It’s been sitting on the books since 1949 pretty much unenforced and we are looking to clean up bits of code we don’t need anymore.”
Passed in 1949, City Code item 9.12.010 states that “it is unlawful for any person to distribute…for use by persons under the age of eighteen years any book…commonly known as ‘comic book’ in which there is prominently featured an account of crime, and which depicts… the commission of the crimes of arson, assault with caustic chemicals, assault with a deadly weapon, burglary, kidnapping, torture, mayhem, murder, rape, robbery, theft or voluntary manslaughter.”
The ordinance essentially jeopardizes comic bookstores, libraries and conventions held in Sacramento.
“There are so many things across the country in terms of book banning and freedom of speech and this is our opportunity to reaffirm freedom in this fun space,” Pluckebaum said. “While this maybe isn’t the highest priority issue facing the city right now, but it is definitely an easy one for us to support.”
This proposal, which is being presented at Tuesday’s Law and Legislation Committee meeting, also seeks to show support for creative arts by designating the third week of September as “Sacramento Comic Book Week.”
“This is more than a clean up of our rolls, it highlights what the community is doing in this creative space,” added the councilmember.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel