A Houston-area city approved a resolution that seeks to restrict books with graphic content intended for minors in its public library.
The City Council of League City, Texas, voted 4-3 on Tuesday to set up rules by which books and other materials could be banned if they are determined to have “obscenity or other harmful content.”
As reported by ABC 13, the resolution aims to block the use of taxpayer money for buying, displaying, or stocking books for people under 18 that address pedophilia, incest, rape, and bondage, as well as those intended for readers below the age of 10 that talk about or show sex, nudity, sexual preference, or related topics.
The council voted in favor of a committee to oversee the library board and create procedures to challenge a book, according to KHOU 11, a local CBS affiliate.
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Local reports said dozens of people spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting, and many protested the resolution. Among the issues raised were concerns about government overreach and the resolution’s impact on the gay community.
“They’re lumping the LGBTQ+ community in with rapists and pedophiles and I find that highly offense and shameful,” said Roy Green, a gay man and local resident, according to Click2Houston, an NBC affiliate.
Texas leads all other states in the nation with the most books banned in schools, claimed a recent analysis by PEN America. Such restrictions have led to legal action in Llano County by citizens arguing that the First Amendment is being violated.
But when it comes to League City and its Helen Hall Library, Mayor Nick Long argued that the procedures being put in place are reasonable.
“In the end, this resolution will fix a lot of the issues. It will allow citizens to have their voices heard. It will ensure that no books or material is banned and put parents in charge of what their children are reading,” he said.