A federal judge ruled earlier this week that the state\u2019s 2023 law on banning pornographic books is too broad and violates the First Amendment.<\/p>\n
The world\u2019s biggest publishers \u2014 as well as several bestselling young adult authors and two parents from Florida \u2014 united to file a federal lawsuit last year<\/a> in the U.S. District Court and argued that part of HB 1069<\/a> is unconstitutional. They sued state officials as well as the School Boards in Orange and Volusia counties.<\/p>\n \u201cMany non-obscene books have been removed from public school libraries to the dismay of students that deeply identify with these books,\u201d Judge Carlos Mendoza wrote in a 50-page order<\/a>.<\/p>\n Court records listed several beloved classics getting pulled from the shelves, including \u201cSlaughterhouse-Five\u201d by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., \u201cThe Color Purple\u201d by Alice Walker, \u201cThe Bluest Eye\u201d by Toni Morrison and \u201cThe Handmaid\u2019s Tale\u201d by Margaret Atwood.<\/p>\n \u201cNone of these books are obscene,\u201d Mendoza wrote.<\/p>\n The judge noted that some books are removed because of a single sentence without considering the context of the entire work.<\/p>\n \u201cAuthors frequently employ literary devices like symbolism and metaphors to convey messages or themes or to advance the plot of the work,\u201d Mendoza wrote. \u201cGiven those literary devices, it\u2019s not clear how the State expects Educational Media Specialists, educators, or other school officials to know exactly what crosses the line in the State\u2019s eyes. The vagueness of the provisions only serves to expand their sweep.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe Florida Department of Education also directs educators to \u2018err on the side of caution,\u2019 which has led many Educational Media Specialists and other educators and school officials to err on the side of removing books based on fear that they and their school districts will be punished. \u2026 And the harms extend beyond that of chilling of speech.\u201d<\/p>\n Novack called the ruling \u201ca total knockout,\u201d although he expects the state to appeal, so the litigation will continue.<\/p>\n When reached for comment, Florida Department of Education spokesperson Nathalia Medina said, \u201cWe remain unwavering in our commitment to defending parental rights and protecting children from exposure to inappropriate content. This is a fight we are determined to win, no matter how hard the activists work to try to stop us.\u201d<\/p>\n Novack said the publishers did not sue for damages, nor did their lawsuit seek to challenge a harmful to minors standard in Florida law, which already outlaws obscene books.<\/p>\n \u201cThe goal of our litigation here<\/a> was always to take that (HB 1069) off the table and get back to a place where we have to talk to the districts about what an appropriate collections policy looks like,\u201d Novack said. \u201cThere\u2019s an opening here to educate the Legislature that truly pornographic material is not allowed in libraries. It\u2019s not something that we would ever seek to publish for young people, nor that librarians would seek to bring in.\u201d<\/p>\n Even as the publishers and authors filed their lawsuit in 2024, Florida lawmakers continued to raise concerns over inappropriate books in schools and proposed new legislation during this Legislative Session.<\/p>\n Complaining about graphic books this year, Rep. Doug Bankson<\/a> said, \u201cIf I took a picture of one of these pages and sent it to a minor, I would go to federal prison.\u201d <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/102220-335_AARP_FL_FPL_728x90_r2.jpg\")
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