The
Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia yesterday heard the federal government's
appeal of the decision that struck down the Child Online Protection Act (COPA) earlier
this year. ABFFE, Powell's Books and A Different Light Bookstores are among the plaintiffs
in this case, which challenges the most recent attempt by Congress to censor the Internet.
The first attempt, the Communications Decency Act (CDA), was held unconstitutional by a
nearly unanimous U.S. Supreme Court. (COPA is sometimes referred to as "CDA
II".)
Two of the three judges on the
appeals panel appeared unsympathetic to the government's claim that it is possible to ban
the display of material that is "harmful to minors" without seriously affecting
the right of adults to get access to material that is constitutionally protected for them.
A ruling by the panel is expected early next year.
New Mexico Internet
Censorship Law Rejected by 10th Circuit
The fate of COPA in the Third
Circuit may have been foreshadowed earlier in the week when the Tenth Circuit Court of
Appeals in Denver upheld a ruling that invalidated a substantially similar New Mexico law.
ABFFE and Full Circle Books of Albuquerque joined the case as plaintiffs. Unfortunately,
the store is no longer in business. Other plaintiffs include the Association of American
Publishers, the Freedom to Read Foundation and other members of the Media Coalition.
ABFFE has been very active in
challenging laws that would affect the ability of booksellers to do business in
cyberspace. On October 6, it joined a challenge to a new Virginia law. It also
participated in the case that invalidated a New York Internet statute.
Judge Orders New
York Mayor Giuliani to Restore Brooklyn Museum Funding
On Monday, a federal judge in New
York ordered Mayor Rudy Giuliani to restore over $7 million in city funding to the
Brooklyn Museum of Art. ABFFE joined the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern
Art and other leading New York cultural institutions in filing an amicus brief supporting
the museum's lawsuit against the city.
Mayor Giuliani cut off funds to
the museum when it refused to cancel a controversial exhibition that contained what he
called "sick stuff," including a painting of the Virgin Mary that incorporates
elephant dung. He argued that museums that receive public funds do not have the same First
Amendment rights as entirely private institutions and may not exhibit works that may
offend the religious sentiments of a large number of taxpayers.
Judge Nina Gershon disagreed.
"There is no federal constitutional issue more grave than the effort by government
officials to censor works of expression and to threaten the vitality of a major cultural
institution, as punishment for failing to abide by governmental demands for
orthodoxy," she wrote.
The city will appeal.
Protests Put
Proposed Senate Committee on American Culture On Hold
In September, ABFFE urged the
Senate Rules Committee not to approve Senator Sam Brownback's plan for a special Committee
on American Culture to investigate "cultural regression". In our letter, we
warned that the committee's focus on the alleged role of the media in perpetuating
violence and other social problems might build support for censorship.
So far, Democratic opposition has
prevented the culture committee from becoming a reality. Senate Democrats have insisted
that they will not allow the committee to move forward unless it considers the problem
created by the ready availability of guns. Although the proposal is not dead, this demand
has had a chilling effect on Republicans who might otherwise have supported it.
Previously in ABFFE Update
