Legislative committee advances bill banning explicit content from children's sections of libraries

This week the state’s joint judiciary committee voted 11-2 to send a bill banning sexually explicit content from the children’s section of libraries to next year’s legislative session.

While several committee members argued repeatedly that the bill did not ban books from libraries — instead mandating that they be re-shelved in an adult’s section — the language of the bill defines a library’s “children’s section” as any portion of a library that provides materials aimed at people under the age of 18, meaning that, if a children’s book was re-shelved in another section, that section would automatically become a children’s section.

Sen. Barry Crago, R-Buffalo, called attention to the issue at the end of Monday’s committee meeting working the draft bill. Rep. Ken Chestek, D-Laramie, had intr