Judge Strikes Down Indiana Bookstore Registration Law

On July 1, a federal judge in Indianapolis struck down an Indiana law requiring bookstores and other retail establishments that sell even a single “sexually explicit” book, magazine, video or recording to register with the state as an "adult" business and pay a $250 license fee. “Clearly, a vast array of merchants and materials is implicated by the reach of this statute as written,” Judge Sarah Evans Barker declared in a written opinion. “A romance novel sold at a drugstore, a magazine offering sex advice in a grocery store checkout line, an R-rated DVD sold by a video rental shop, a collection of old Playboy magazines sold by a widow at a garage sale – all incidents of unquestionably lawful, non-obscene, non-pornographic material being sold to adults – would appear to necessitate registration under the statute.” The Indiana Attorney General has announced that he will not appeal the decision.

Barker agreed with ABFFE, Big Hat Books of Indianapolis, Boxcar Books and Community Center of Bloomington and the other plaintiffs that the law would have a chilling effect on the sale of constitutionally protected works. To avoid being labeled an “adult” store, retailers would have been forced to suppress the sale of almost all works with sexual content. “There can be no doubt that compliance with such a vague mandate will be unduly burdensome, will have a chilling effect on expression, and will fail to provide ordinary people with a reasonable degree of notice as to the law’s requirements; the Constitution demands no less,” Barker said. Click here to read bookseller reactions to the decision in Bookselling This Week. Click here to read Barker’s opinion.
 

Judge Sets October 3 Hearing in Oregon Case

A federal judge in Portland has set October 3 as the date for a final hearing in the challenge that ABFFE, six booksellers, and a coalition of groups have filed in an effort to overturn portions of Oregon's "harmful to minors" law.  U.S. District Court Judge Michael W. Mosman scheduled the hearing on the motion for a permanent injunction on June 30 after denying a request for a preliminary injunction.
 
Oregon House Bill 2843 makes it a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail to allow a minor under 13 to view or purchase a “sexually explicit” work. Booksellers have challenged the law because it does not include a requirement that a book or magazine be judged as a whole in determining whether it is illegal. The U.S. Supreme Court requires such a test to protect works that contain only a few sexually explicit images or passages. Booksellers also object to the lack of an exemption for material that has serious literary artistic, political or scientific value for minors—another Supreme Court requirement. To read more about the case, click here.
 

FREADOM T-Shirts, Bookmarks, and More - Order Now for Banned Books Week!

Banned Books Week 2008 kicks off on Sept. 27. To help booksellers prepare, ABFFE is launching its annual sale of Banned Books Week products, including a new FREADOM bookmark that is priced at only $5 for 100.  The bookmark incorporates Roger Roth’s very popular image of the Statue of Liberty reading a book. There are also deep discounts on the T-shirts, buttons and stickers that incorporate ABFFE’s FREADOM logo.  The T-shirts are available in charcoal and forest green, as well as the traditional blue and black. Booksellers can order T-shirts customized with their store logo for just $1 extra per shirt. Customized orders must be received by September 1 to guarantee delivery in time for Banned Books Week.
To download an order form, click here.

For the first time this year, ABFFE will also offer Banned Books Week bracelets that feature cover art from frequently challenged books. Created by artist Carolyn Forsman, the bracelets are available in adult and young adult versions.  Click here to view the bracelets.

ABFFE makes it easy for booksellers to participate in Banned Books Week by providing an online handbook on its Web site, http://www.abffe.com/banned2007.htm.  The handbook describes a variety of activities, including the creation of simple displays and ideas for organizing easy events like readings from banned books.

Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 to draw attention to the growing number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries. It is sponsored by ABFFE, ALA, the Association of American Publishers, the American Society of Journalists and Authors, and the National Association of College Stores. For further information about Banned Books Week, contact Rebecca Zeidel, (212) 587-4025 ext. 13; rebecca@abffe.com.
 

ABFFE Welcomes Michael Tucker to Board of Directors

In June, the ABFFE board of directors welcomed Michael Tucker of Books, Inc. in California as its new member.  Tucker is the new vice president of the American Booksellers Association (ABA) and therefore becomes vice president of ABFFE as well.  The ABA adopted this policy at the time of the creation of ABFFE to ensure that the ABA's leadership is  knowledgeable and informed about ABFFE's work.  Tucker replaces Gayle Shanks of Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe, Arizona, the new ABA president.

Tucker is president/CEO and co-owner of Books, Inc.  In addition to serving on the ABA board, he is also a member of the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association (NCIBA), the Southern California Independent Booksellers Association (SCIBA), and the San Francisco Locally Owned Merchants Alliance (SFLOMA).
 

Supreme Court Upholds Child Pornography Law

On May 19, the Supreme Court upheld a child pornography law that makes it a crime to “pander” material as child pornography even if it is not child pornography.  ABFFE had joined other members of Media Coalition in filing an amicus brief in the case, U.S. v. Williams.  In the view of the 11^th Circuit Court of Appeals, the law creates the possibility that a bookseller could be convicted of child pornography for offering to sell material that is constitutionally protected or does not depict children at all.

In a 7-2 ruling, the Supreme Court rejected the reasoning of the 11^th Circuit and the amicus brief filed by ABFFE and others.  Writing for the majority, Justice Scalia declared that it is clear Congress meant the law to apply only to those who intentionally market material as child pornography.  “We are disappointed that the Supreme Court did not recognize the problem of vagueness identified by the 11th Circuit," ABFFE President Chris Finan said.  "However, we take some comfort in the fact that the Court has declared that the law applies only to those who intentionally market material as child pornography.  It effectively narrowed the statute, making it less likely that a bookseller could ever be charged."
 

The ABFFE Book of the Month for June is Claim of Privilege: A Mysterious Plane Crash, a Landmark Supreme Court Case, and the Rise of State Secrets by Barry Siegel (HarperCollins), 9780060777029.  Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Barry Siegel uncovers the mystery behind a 1948 plane crash and the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in U.S. v. Reynolds, which formally recognized the State Secrets Privilege.  The case involved three civilian engineers who joined an Air Force crew who boarded a B-29 plane to test secret navigational equipment they were developing for the government.  The plane crashed during testing in 1948, and all three engineers died.  In responding to the widows’ suit for damages, the government refused to release its accident reports and witness statements, falsely claiming they contained classified information.  In U.S. v. Reynolds, the Supreme Court upheld this claim and thereby set a legal precedent enabling federal agencies to refuse to turn over sensitive documents that they say might endanger national security.  Siegel reveals the dangerous consequences of government secrecy and how it threatens our civil liberties. Click here to read an interview with the author.  To read about recent ABFFE Book of the Month selections, click here.

Show Your Support for Freadom!

ABFFE's popular, newly-redesigned “freadom” t-shirts, buttons, bookmarks, and bumper stickers are available during Banned Books Week and all year round.  To order online, visit the ABFFE store.

For further information, contact Rebecca Zeidel, (212) 587-4025, ext. 13; rebecca@abffe.com.