Help us protect kids/minors from pornography in the library.
Write to the Governor to tell him of your dissapointment in his veto of HB314 last legislative session. This bill would have saved our kids from this filth and held Librarians responsible for the books in their collecitons.
If state law allows for local adaptation, then lets adapt!
We respect 1st amendment rights, however children are a protected group.
EX: age requirements exist for the purchase of; cigarettes, vape, alcohol and pornography because they are harmful to minors.
Minors are a protected group that when exposed to obscene materials as defined in Idaho title 18 chapter 1513 states, “It is found that such materials and performances are a contributing factor to crime, to juvenile crime, and also a basic factor in impairing the ethical and moral development of our youth.”
Idaho statutes exempt libraries
from legal ramifications that would be inflicted on most entities for the known distribution or sales of pornography. I don’t think that was intended to openly allow porn for all age groups. Lets get some reasonable policy to protect minors in place.
idaho employees of public libraries potentially liable under statute
conclusion: employees of public libraries, under certain circumstances, could be prosecuted in idaho, under idaho code SS 18-1515 (2000), for disseminating material harmful to minors. although in accordance with idaho code SS 18-1517(d), an affirmative defense is available to public libraries and those acting in their capacity as employees of a library, arguably library employees could not invoke the defense under all circumstances. since idaho code SS 18-1515 pertains to the non-commercial dissemination of print materials and internet images that are harmful to minors, public library employees could be held liable under the statute, where they are unable to invoke the defense.
analysis:
1) statute could apply to employee acting outside employment capacity in disseminating material harmful to minors
employees of a public library could be prosecuted for disseminating material harmful to minors under idaho code SS 18-1515. in accordance with idaho code SS 18-1517(1) (d): (1) in any prosecution for disseminating material harmful to minors, it is an affirmative defense that: (d) the defendant was a bona fide school, college, university, museum or public library, or was acting in his capacity as an employee of such an organization or a retail outlet affiliated with and serving the educational purposes of such an organization.
although the defense protects a bona fide library and public library employees acting within their capacity, arguably the defense would not be available to public library employees who act beyond their capacities as employees, without authority. for example, where a public library employee knowingly permits a minor to access an unfiltered internet screen, in contravention to the librarys established internet use policy requiring minors to use filtered terminals, and where the minor obtains material which is harmful to him, in a prosecution under the statute, the library employee might not be able to invoke the aforementioned defense.
2) statute applies to the non-commercial dissemination of materials not suitable for minors
since idaho code SS 18-1515 pertains to the non-commercial dissemination of materials, which are harmful to minors, a public library employee could be held liable under the statute, where s/he is unable to invoke the public library/capacity defense. idaho code SS 18-1515(1) states that a person is guilty of disseminating material harmful to minors when: he knowingly gives or makes available to a minor or promotes or possesses with intent to promote to minors, or he knowingly sells or loans to a minor for monetary consideration, material which is harmful to minors.
3) statute applies to both print materials and internet images
in idaho, a public library employee could be held liable for the dissemination to minors of both print materials and internet images that are harmful to minors. material, as defined in idaho code SS 18-1514 means: anything tangible which is harmful to minors, whether derived through the medium of reading, observation or sound. clearly, the broad definition of materials can be construed to encompass internet images in addition to print materials.
http://www.safelibraries.org/harmful_to_minors_laws_vis-a-vis_librarians.html