Tennessee lawmakers want to create a way to relocate 'obscene material' from library shelves

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The old saying is to never judge a book by its cover, but a Tennessee lawmaker says he's judging the contents, too.

"Countless constituents are concerned that public and school libraries, nationwide, are making pornographic materials available to minors — and yes I said pornographic," said Rep. John Ragan, R-Oak Ridge during the House Department and Agencies Subcommittee.

Rep. Ragan shared what he called photographic evidence with other lawmakers on the subcommittee, but this is all he would tell us.

"Since this is going to be broadcast, I’m not going to be graphic. But there are pictures that are pornographic by anybody’s standard. They're put in children’s books and they’re put on the library for children," said Ragan during an interview with NewsChannel 5.

It turns out, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel, Anderson County became outraged over sexual education and LGBTQ+ books being accessible at their libraries, to readers of any age.

"Let the people be involved as opposed to unelected, undemocratically accountable people," said Ragan.

That's why he's proposing a new state law that would let concerned individuals petition for a book to be relocated to the restricted section.

The Process

If the bill passes, those wanting to file a petition have to notify the library 30 days in advance. If the two sides agree, it all ends there.

However, if the two sides can't agree, actually filling out the petition is pretty complicated. First you have to do a little math. In each county, you have to calculate what five percent of the county's voting population that voted in the last gubernatorial election. That's the number of signatures you need. "If it’s declared valid, then the library must take action at that point to protect minors," said Ragan.

There is an appeal process the library or the petitioners can go through. Also, the petitioners have to put down a money deposit to move forward.

Pushback

But Cari Lambert, a member of the Rutherford County Library Alliance, says the obscene content is likely being taken out of context.

"It’s so infuriating, we have constitutionally guaranteed rights," said Lambert. "Those being used in comprehensive sex education materials are not child pornography."

The RCLA was formed to oppose book censorship. She thinks Ragan's bill is a classic example.

"Then you’re taking a few parents, and they get to parent everybody’s kid and tell them: No you can’t protect your child and teach them what they need to know because I don’t like it," she said.

But Rep. Ragan says the content and context is irrelevant when citizens don't get a say.

"The taxpayers are the ones supporting these libraries -- and in my mind -- taxpayers should get a direct say," said Ragan.

The Nashville Public Library chimed in on Wednesday.

"At NPL, we believe parents should play an active role in what their children read and don’t read – which is why parents can link their library account to their child’s NPL account and be aware of every library resource their children use.

We’re also in constant conversation with our community about NPL’s collection. Customer feedback is important to us as we regularly review the library collection to ensure it serves the needs and interests of our city. Meanwhile, the library has a process in place for customers who want to request changes to NPL’s collection of more than two million books and materials."

What's next

The bill passed out of the House Departments and Agencies Subcommittee on Thursday.

It still has several steps to take before it reaches the House floor.

The bill has not reached the first committee in the Tennessee Senate yet.