The Arkansas Senate passed a bill Feb. 22 with intentions to shield children from controversial reading materials.

Senate Bill 81, proposed by Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Jonesboro, would establish a crime for library and school staff knowingly allowing a minor to check out a book deemed to “depict or describe nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement or sadomasochistic abuse.” 

Over 20 librarians and school staff traveled across the state on Monday to speak against the bill. The committee limited some speakers to just one minute to express their opinions. 

Some speakers used their brief time to read passages from books that they found inappropriate for children, while others expressed their concerns for children who don’t learn “tough” topics from their parents, but from books. 

The Senate Judiciary Committee OK’d the bill the day before and sent it to the Senate for its third reading Feb. 22. 

Sen. Sullivan said that the bill’s intent is not to change the current obscenity laws but to change who the obscenity law applies to. 

In particular, it would alter the law to remove existing protections for public school and library employees from being prosecuted for distributing ‘obscene’ materials. 

“By removing the exemption, everyone is on the same playing field,” Sullivan said. 

“We have all kinds of laws to protect children physically — anti-smoking, seat belts, liquor, movies, all kinds of restrictions that are legal on what is harmful to children and not harmful to children,” Sullivan said.

Another amendment to the bill is that schools must allow parents to see what books their children are checking out. This process would let parents appeal books to librarians, which would continue to either the library board or school principal, and so on to the City Council or Quorum Court. 

“This is a big change,” Sullivan said on the new parents’ appeal process. 

Sullivan explains that the way the bill is written, a prosecutor would have to say a book violates the state obscenity law. Then, it would go to a judge, where the court would have to agree. 

To be prosecuted, a librarian would have to distribute the media knowing it violates the law, he said.

“If someone knowingly violates the law, that’s their choice,” Sullivan said.

Sen. Stephanie Flowers, D-Pine Bluff, spoke up first to oppose the bill. 

She said the bill is “obsessed with sex,” and said Sullivan should be more worried about books with pro-violence plots, using books about school shootings and guns as examples. 

Sen. Linda Chesterfield, D-Little Rock, said, “This is a dangerous bill.” 

Chesterfield said she is concerned about the “bag of worms” the legislature could be opening, adding the Bible is in the library and have multiple stories that include rape, incest and graphic language.

Two more senators spoke against the bill. 

Sen. Clarke Tucker, D-Little Rock, said Senate members should remember the importance of free speech and the First Amendment.

Tucker said, “It’s very difficult to define what obscene is, and once you go too far, then you’re into censorship and violating the First Amendment.” 

Sen. Sullivan took the podium one last time to plead his case, wasting no time to say that the Bible is vetted and will not be removed, followed by applause from some members. 

Despite the last-ditch efforts by Democratic Senators, the bill passed 27-6 through the state senate with all six Democratic Senators opposed.

The bill now moves on to the House side, where its Judiciary Committee is scheduled to discuss the bill.