Fayetteville, Arkansas (KNWA/KFTA) — A federal judge has blocked Arkansas’ new book censorship law from taking effect, according to court documents for the Western District of Arkansas.
U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks granted the preliminary injunction after oral arguments by plaintiffs in the lawsuit earlier this week.
This ruling means that Law 372 will not come into effect on August 1 as originally scheduled.
Law No. 372 would prohibit libraries from distributing materials deemed “obscene” to children.
The law isn’t completely repealed by a judge’s ruling, but it means it won’t go into effect until lawmakers decide its constitutionality.
The Fayetteville Public Library is one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, along with the Arkansas Central Library System and the Eureka Springs Carnegie Library.
Arkansas ACLU Executive Director Holly Dixon responded to the lawsuit by stating, “Stop enforcing Section 372, Sections 3 and 5 of the Act, which jeopardizes the mandatory First Amendment rights of all Arkansas residents. I commend the court’s decision to do so.” It is a pity that we have to question whether our constitutional rights are even respected today. The question we had to ask was whether the Arkansas still had legal access to reading material. Fortunately, the justice system has once again defended our precious freedoms. We are committed to continuing the fight to protect everyone’s right to access information and ideas. ”
