Ten weeks after it was introduced in the House of Representatives by Congressman Bernie Sanders (I-VT), the Freedom to Read Protection Act (H.R. 1157) is drawing support from all across the political spectrum. The bill, which is the first effort to amend the USA Patriot Act, restores the protections for the privacy of bookstore and library records that were eliminated by the Patriot Act. It is co-sponsored by 118 members of the House, including 13 Republicans. Republicans are showing a growing interest in the bill. Five have announced their support for the legislation in the past three weeks.

One explanation for the growing Republican interest in the bill may be the fact that major companies are increasingly vocal in its support. On May 15, Alibris, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million and Borders joined over 30 book and library groups in issuing a statement supporting H.R. 1157. The Ingram Book Group and Baker & Taylor added their names to the statement later.

Supporters of the legislation have been encouraged by these signs of progress. On the House side, Sanders and Ron Paul (R-TX) recently urged F. James Sensenbrenner, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, to hold a hearing on H.R. 1157. In the Senate, Barbara Boxer (D-CA) has introduced a similar bill, the Library and Bookseller Protection Act (S. 1158).

On Monday, ABFFE will join That Bookstore in Blytheville, the Arkansas Library Association and others in challenging a new Arkansas law that requires retailers to segregate any work that is "harmful to minors" in an "adults only" section of the store. The new law violates the First Amendment rights of adults by restricting their access to a wide range of novels and non-fiction books that have some sexual content but have serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value. The restriction could apply to Maya Angelou's "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings," Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men," Judy Blume's "Forever," and "Joy of Sex." Media Coalition will lead the challenge to the Arkansas law. In the 1970's and 1980's, Media Coalition successfully challenged a number of similar "minor's access" restrictions on behalf of the American Booksellers Association and others.

Like booksellers and their customers, ABFFE is looking forward eagerly to the publication of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" tomorrow. Hoping to seize the moment to help educate both kids and their parents about the importance of fighting for free speech, ABFFE is inviting booksellers to insert in the new book a flyer about the efforts to censor Harry Potter. It is available for downloading on ABFFE's main Web site, www.abffe.com.