Seattle’s Lake City library has been fighting a particularly contentious fight lately, upholding patrons’ right to watch pornography on library computers
It started when a patron, Julie Howe, asked a librarian to do something about a man watching hardcore, obscene pornography (which might actually have been ILLEGAL) right next to her and her daughter. The librarian refused to do anything.
Now the Seattle public library is saying:
“We’re a library, so we facilitate access to constitutionally protected information. We don’t tell people what they can view and check out. Filters compromise freedom of speech protected by the First Amendment. We’re not in the business of censoring information.”
It’s worth noting that they aren’t bound to this stance. Washington State Supreme Court has actually given libraries limited and understandable filtering rights. In a 2010 decision, the court ruled that libraries have historically had some amount of control as to what they carried in their collection, and that ought to be extended to the Internet. Additionally, the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld these rights too. LIBRARIES HAVE THE RIGHT TO FILTER, ESPECIALLY PORNOGRAPHY. Also, OBSCENITY IS NOT PROTECTED SPEECH. LEARN MORE ABOUT LAWS at www.WarOnIllegalPornography.com
We have a project underway to get filters in schools and libraries – we have the law on our side and we definitely have a majority of public opinion. LET’S USE THIS to pressure these libraries to protect our children from the dangers of pornography. Contact the Seattle Library Administration and let them know why they should care about the dangers of pornography.
ARTICLES ABOUT THIS ISSUE IN SEATTLE:
“Woman says child saw porn at Lake City library” – http://mynorthwest.com/11/620022/Woman-says-child-saw-hardcore-porn-at-Lake-City-library
“Mother challenges viewing of Internet porn at library; girl saw it” – http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/avantgo/2017387133.html
“Seattle Library Upholds Man’s Right To Watch Porn On Its Computers” – http://www.geekosystem.com/seattle-library-porn/
