Beyond mad
A proposed bill in Iowa seeks to prosecute people accused of providing “obscene material” to minors could potentially be weaponized against book lenders throughout the state.
Depending on one’s own biases, and how broadly the law is interpreted by prosecutors, the proposed law might be used to force librarians and bookstore owners to serve prison time and register as sex offenders if they allow minors to access LGBTQ-themed books that have been deemed “obscene.”
The bill amends an existing obscenity law with harsher penalties.
Under the proposed revision, “any person, other than the parent or guardian of the minor, who knowingly disseminates or exhibits obscene material to minor, including the exhibition of scene material so that it can be observed by a minor on or off the premises where it is displayed” will be considered guilty of an “aggravated misdemeanor.”
Previously, the dissemination of so-called “obscene material” was considered a “serious misdemeanor,” punishable by up to a year in prison and a fine of at least $430 but not more than $2,560. But an aggravated misdemeanor is punishable by up to two years in prison, and much larger fine, ranging from $855 to $8,540.
Under the law, a person convicted of disseminating obscene material is considered to have committed a Tier I Sex Offense, and will be required to register as a sex offender for a period of 10 years.
While the bill appears straightforward, it could potentially have problematic effects — depending on who is doing the deeming of what constitutes “obscene.”
Under Iowa law, “obscene material,” which includes written material, is defined as “any material depicting or describing the genitals, sex acts, masturbation, excretory functions, or sadomasochistic abuse which the average person, taking the material as a whole and applying contemporary community standards with respect to what is suitable material for minors, would find appeals to the prurient interest and is patently offensive; and the material, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, scientific, political or artistic value.”
Iowa Law Could Deem Librarians and Bookstore Owners “Sex Offenders”
