A new law will allow scrutiny of school materials and books for sexually explicit illustrations.
On August 28, a new law will go into effect, that makes it a Class A misdemeanor for anyone affiliated with a public or private school to provide books or any other material with sexually explicit illustrations or photos. Some works of art, anthropology, or information could be exempted under the law.
This measure by Senator Rick Brattin at the last minute- was tacked onto a different bill by Senator Holly Thompson Rehder – She explained during the final debate why senators agreed to only include Sexually explicit illustrations instead of text.
Rheder cited biology books, and even the Bible as being subject to being classified as explicit sexual text. The Missouri Library Association and The Missouri Association of School Librarians are bracing for this new law but state they oppose pre-emptive removal, censoring, and labeling of library materials. The library association states that since there are exemptions for works that are artistic or otherwise informational in nature, that accounts for the entirety of library collections.
(Photo by John Michael Thomson on Unsplash)
