this post was submitted on 24 May 2024
139 points (99.3% liked)

Interesting Global News

2607 readers
280 users here now

What is global news?

Something that happened or was uncovered recently anywhere in the world. It doesn't have to have global implications. Just has to be informative in some way.

Post guidelines

Title formatPost title should mirror the news source title.
URL formatPost URL should be the original link to the article (even if paywalled) and archived copies left in the body. It allows avoiding duplicate posts when cross-posting.
[Opinion] prefixOpinion (op-ed) articles must use [Opinion] prefix before the title.

Rules

1. English onlyTitle and associated content has to be in English.
2. No social media postsAvoid all social media posts. Try searching for a source that has a written article or transcription on the subject.
3. Respectful communicationAll communication has to be respectful of differing opinions, viewpoints, and experiences.
4. InclusivityEveryone is welcome here regardless of age, body size, visible or invisible disability, ethnicity, sex characteristics, gender identity and expression, education, socio-economic status, nationality, personal appearance, race, caste, color, religion, or sexual identity and orientation.
5. Ad hominem attacksAny kind of personal attacks are expressly forbidden. If you can't argue your position without attacking a person's character, you already lost the argument.
6. Off-topic tangentsStay on topic. Keep it relevant.
7. Instance rules may applyIf something is not covered by community rules, but are against lemmy.zip instance rules, they will be enforced.

Companion communities

Icon attribution | Banner attribution

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
BrikoX@lemmy.zip
139
Instead Of Banning Books, Idaho Library Decides To Ban Kids In Response To New Law On ‘Inappropriate Books’ (www.techdirt.com)
submitted 5 months ago by BrikoX@lemmy.zip to c/globalnews@lemmy.zip
12 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Public libraries are supposed to be places for communities to gather and learn, with an important focus on being a place for kids to gain access to information. But thanks to a moral panic in the GOP about “indoctrination” in libraries, it seems that at least one library has decided to shut its door to children.

Archived version: https://archive.ph/JzspZ

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] herrcaptain@lemmy.ca 38 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Entering force on July 1, 2024, HB 710 features a definition of obscene materials for minors that critics believe to be broad and, per the library, “ambiguous.” 

“‘Sexual conduct’ means any act of masturbation, homosexuality, sexual intercourse, or physical contact with a person’s clothed or unclothed genitals, pubic area, buttocks or, if such person be a female, the breast,” reads a portion of the bill. The law provides for broad assumptions regarding material that is potentially “obscene” or “harmful to minors” for simply dealing with the subject matter of sexuality or the human body’s biological reproductive functions. Parents or guardians can arbitrarily apply these definitions against libraries accused of “promoting” material that is supposedly harmful to minors. In the law, “promoting” refers to virtually any act of selling, loaning out, and distributing books, DVDs, CDs, or other media types. The law also prohibits live performances that meet the definition of being harmful to minors. It is pretty encompassing. 

Judging by this definition, the Bible should unequivocally be considered harmful to minors. There's some pretty outright horny stuff in there. I'd say this should be challenged by using it to sue church libraries, but it looks like the bill is directed at schools and public libraries, so I'm guessing they're exempt by being private organizations.

[–] BrikoX@lemmy.zip 30 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

It was banned in a different state, because it definitely qualifies under these definitions Utah primary schools ban Bible for 'vulgarity and violence', but then they had to reverse it because it angered religious extremists Utah district returns Bible to school libraries after reversal of parent-led ban.

[–] herrcaptain@lemmy.ca 16 points 5 months ago

Thanks for the links! Of course they unbanned it, but it's at least good to see there are parents/citizens calling out the hypocrisy in the first place. I know they're fighting an extremely uphill battle in red states.