Mortenson: ‘We’re locking up librarians’

In a move that one lawmaker said would lead to “locking up librarians,” South Dakota legislators advanced a bill 38-32 on Thursday at the Capitol in Pierre that would remove legal protections for libraries and other institutions if children view books that meet the legal definition of “harmful to minors.”
The bill would repeal an exemption shielding libraries, schools, universities, museums and their employees from prosecution under laws regulating obscenity and dissemination of material harmful to children. Without the exemption, people who work for those entities could be subjected to prosecutions resulting in a year of jail time and a $2,000 fine.
After passing the House of Representatives, the legislation’s next stop is the Senate.
Rep. Bethany Soye, R-Sioux Falls, is the main sponsor. During Thursday’s House debate, she referenced an exemption in state law for works with serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value and said that should suffice, without specific protection from prosecution for several entities.
“So essentially this bill is just removing that exemption and saying that we want the same standard for everyone,” she said.
Soye cited the book “Tricks” by Ellen Hopkins, marketed as a young adult novel about prostitution, as an example of harmful material currently accessible to students in public school libraries. She and other supporters said the intent of the bill is to pressure schools and libraries to remove those kinds of books.
“I ask all of you to read that and look me in the eyes and tell me that’s not pornography,” Soye said.
Opponents of the bill said it could lead to librarians facing criminal charges for loaning books. Rep. Drew Peterson, R-Salem, noted that the state’s legal definition of harmful material does not require criminal intent to justify a prosecution.
“If a librarian accidentally allowed a student to take an anatomy book home or an encyclopedia with a picture of a naked human being, they could potentially be charged with a year in jail,” Peterson said. “That’s why I am voting no.”
Rep. Will Mortenson, R-Fort Pierre, also opposed the measure.
“We’re locking up librarians,” Mortenson said. “Folks, we’re not growing the state. We’re not helping our people. We’re locking up librarians in this bill.”
Soye countered that several states have already removed similar exemptions and said no librarians have been sent to jail in those states. A report last year by The Washington Post listed eight states that have passed laws stripping librarian exemptions from prosecution under obscenity laws, including one where the law was blocked by the courts and two where the bill was vetoed.
Other opponents said the bill could lead to resignations. Rep. Kevin Van Diepen, R-Huron, a retired law enforcement officer, said he had never been asked to arrest a librarian.
“I’ve been called by all of the librarians in my district who said they will quit because of this,” Van Diepen said. “Is that what we want? Librarians quitting? Doesn’t make any sense.”
In her closing arguments, Soye rejected claims that the bill criminalizes librarians.
“Just because there’s a penalty for something, does that mean you’re criminalizing someone?” she asked.