Booksellers sue to stop Texas law that would ban ‘explicit’ books from school libraries

Texas bookstores and industry trade groups have sued Texas over a recently passed bill that aims to keep “sexually explicit” works out of school libraries.

Republican-backed HB 900, recently signed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, would require booksellers to give ratings to materials they sell based on their sexual content. Further, the law, which goes into effect Sept. 1, would require schools to remove those rated as sexually explicit from library shelves and only make them available to students able to provide parental permission.

In a complaint filed Tuesday in Austin federal court, the plaintiffs argue the new law is vague, overly broad and violates the U.S. Constitution by targeting protected speech. The petition also maintains that  the legislation illegally compels private companies to become part of the state’s enforcement mechanism by threatening them with punishment.

“The Book Ban compels Plaintiffs to express the government’s views, even if they do not agree, and operates as a prior restraint, two of the most egregious constitutional infringements,” according to the complaint filed by Austin’s BookPeople, West Houston’s Blue Willow Bookshop, the American Booksellers Association, the Association of American Publishers, the Authors Guild and the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.

Texas’ Republican-controlled legislature adopted HB 900 over the opposition of library associations, book stores and publishers, who testified that it would stifle free speech and put unfair strain on book vendors.

The legislation followed a flurry of efforts by members of the Texas GOP to enact bans on school library materials during the most recent election cycle. Among those, Texas Rep. Matt Krause, R-Fort Worth, fired off an October 2021 letter demanding that school administrators account for the presence of 850 books that received “objections from students, parents, and taxpayers.” Many of those books addressed racial justice, LGBTQ+ rights and gender issues.

In their lawsuit, the booksellers cited Krause’s action as the inspiration for HB 900. They further argued that opponents of the legislation warned during testimony that its vague language could result in libraries cutting off students’ access to important literary works, including Shakespeare’s plays, the Bible and Larry McMurtry’s Lonesome Dove.

“During debate on the Book Ban, proponents ignored a variety of practical and constitutional concerns about how the legislation about how the legislation would operate and the books that could be banned from public school libraries as a result,” the suit states. 

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This article appears in Jul 26 – Aug 8, 2023.