Earlier this month, the Idaho Senate and House passed a bill that will require libraries to move material considered harmful to children or face lawsuits.
This bill, House Bill 710, will require anything that falls under Idaho’s definition of harmful material, which includes “any act of … homosexual activity” under their definition of sexual content, to be moved to an adults-only section or face a lawsuit from the child or their parents. Although the lawsuit is only if libraries do not move materials within 60 days of a request, it still allows children or parents to receive $250 in statutory damages, as well as actual damages and relief.
Librarians argue that this bill unfairly targets LGBTQ+ people and will have incredibly negative effects on the accessibility of queer media in Idaho. Associate Librarian in the Meridian Library District Izzy Burgess, who has been testifying against this bill for over a year, told us at OFM that, “The signing of Idaho House Bill 710 signifies the state’s clear commitment to homophobia and the erasure of queer stories. While there are many alarming outcomes heading towards libraries when the bill goes into effect, I am most concerned about what will happen to queer media now that the state has deemed it obscene and harmful to minors. I used the library as a queer teen to find stories about a community I was not yet in touch with. There is community and comfort in stories, something that librarians will fight to uphold for everyone.”
This is evidenced by the wording of the bill considering gay content as sexual, as well as the examples supporters of the bill used to justify the relocation. One testifier pointed to Call Me Max, a children’s book about a transgender boy navigating elementary school, and used it as an example of “pornographic materials.” The book is only about a transgender child and features no sexual references, but is still considered harmful in Idaho due to the LGBTQ+ identity of its main character. LGBTQ+ books are being banned from youth sections in other states such as Kansas.
This bill affects not only children’s sections at the public library but also all school libraries, including high schools. Librarians will only be allowed to check out “harmful content” to people who provide proof of being over 18, or to minors accompanied by a parent.
The bill has been signed by Governor Brad Little as of April 10, 2024, and will go into effect on July 1, 2024.
