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Politics : View from the Center and Left Texas Annex
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From: S. maltophilia5/12/2025 11:21:15 PM
   of 182
 
Censorship concerns rise over Texas bill; Abilene bookstore pushes back

..... HB1375 allows individuals to sue if they’re harmed by obscene or harmful content, particularly when it’s accessible to minors. Under the bill, businesses that help distribute such content can be held liable, and the law lowers the bar for plaintiffs to win those lawsuits.

“With this bill, people can self-define what is harmless because the bill is saying that legal action can be taken against a bookstore that would sell harmful material to a minor. It’s already illegal to put things in the hands of a minor that would be harmful to them,” Kasselman explained. “But this is saying that the bookstore can be sued, and there can be a civil suit based on the minor having harmful material in their hands. But the definition of harmful is the problem. The biggest concern that we have is that for small businesses, first of all, we can’t afford the lawsuits.”


Censorship efforts at libraries continued to soar in 2023, according to a new report
With the definition of what is harmful being so broad, Texas Freedom to Read Co-Founder Anne Russey said that she has heard opinions on why certain books should be banned in public schools and libraries. This bill is different as it targets privately owned businesses.

“For example, to walk into a bookstore and if the child picks up a book that the parent decides they have a problem with, they could kind of raise a frivolous claim, like, oh, that......

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