Iowa — Iowa’s obscenity law doesn’t apply to public libraries and educational institutions. A subcommittee in the Iowa House has approved a bill to repeal that exemption.
During a hearing at the Capitol, a supporter of the repeal threw books on the table as a critic of the bill testified. Keenan Crow of the LGBTQ advocacy group One Iowa, was suggesting the bill would allow people to file frivolous lawsuits.
Evelyn Nikkel of PELLA PAC — a group that lobbies legislators to protect children from propaganda and obscene materials — says the exemption provides a loophole for public libraries.
Chris Campbell of Ames says taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to pay for materials that could be deemed obscene.
Reverend Brigit Stevens of the United Church of Christ testified against the bill.
Book publishers have filed a federal lawsuit challenging a 2023 Iowa law to ban books with sexual content from school libraries.
photo caption:House subcommittee hearing on House File 274. (RI photo)
