COEUR D’ALENE- HB 710, or the “Children’s School and Library Protection Act” went into effect in Idaho Monday.
The new law requires Idaho public and school libraries to remove materials deemed harmful and obscene, or they could face lawsuits.
HB 710 also relies on Idaho’s existing definition of materials harmful to minors, which includes “any act of…homosexuality,” under the state’s definition of sexual conduct.
On Monday, there were events at public libraries in North Idaho where people came out in opposition to HB 710. The events were hosted by the Library Alliance of North Idaho.
“I don’t do these things a lot. But this one, I came to. Mainly, because I’m just really concerned about the future of libraries in Kootenai County,” Beverly Moss, a long-time Coeur d’Alene resident who attended the event at the Coeur d’Alene Public Library, said.
The Idaho Family Policy Center (IFPC) based in Boise drafted the bill.
Their leadership argues that HB 710 is not a “book ban,” but, that it protects children from “pornographic material.”
“Those concerns are entirely unfounded when we read the clear text of the statute. The Children’s School and Library Protection Act does not ban any books. Libraries can continue offering obscene or pornographic books to their adult patrons. They simply must restrict access to children,” Blaine Conzatti, the President of IFPC, said.
The political win for the IFPC sparked outrage amongst multiple North Idaho residents who attended the event at the Coeur d’Alene Public Library Monday, including Laura Tenneson.
Tenneson told NonStop Local that she worries that this law will negatively impact librarians.
“As we’ve seen, the director of the Coeur d’Alene library just resigned. As did the director of the Community Library Network. So, we’re seeing the effects already in the Coeur d’Alene area and in the surrounding areas,” Tenneson said. “We’ve seen a mass exodus of librarians from our state, because they’re being persecuted like this.”
Conzatti told NonStop Local that librarians, library staff and school staff will not face any civil or criminal liability under this new law.
“The civil liability falls on the institution,” Conzatti said.
The Idaho Library Association stood against the bill before its implementation Monday.
