(WBAP/KLIF) — The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that a Texas law aimed at removing sexually explicit books from school libraries is unconstitutional. The federal appeals court determined that the law to rate books violates free speech rights.
The law had required booksellers to use a rating system to classify books based on their sexual content, however the court deemed the rating system a way for the state to use inconsistent criteria to remove books from school libraries based on each community’s values. The move is a setback for conservative parents and lawmakers who were trying to remove sexually explicit material contained in libraries at elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools.
Most of the books targeted from removal dealt with gender identity, sexual orientation, and sexuality. The lawsuit was brought by a booksellers, authors, publishers, and two bookstores.
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