Critics of the ultra-violent film Natural Born Killers accused director Oliver Stone of exploiting the violence that he claimed to be satirizing. But not even the harshest critic ever contended that Stone was trying to incite violence. Yet that is the claim being advanced in a Louisiana lawsuit, and a state appeals court has ordered the case to trial. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of a store clerk who was shot during a holdup by a woman who was allegedly acting "under the influence" of the film.

ALA Reports 478 Books Challenged in the United States in 1998 Huck Finn Wins Case in the Ninth Circuit New Fight Over Illinois Community Standards Begins ABFFE Still Seeking Autographed Books for Silent Auction Previous ABFFE Updates

The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, the Association of American Publishers, the Authors Guild, the Freedom to Read Foundation and the National Association of College Stores have joined the television and movie industries in urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the decision by the Louisiana court. In a brief filed last month, they argued that Supreme Court precedent holds that speech can be held liable for causing violence only if it contains both an intent to incite imminent lawless conduct and there is a likelihood that such conduct will immediately ensue. In this case, it is alleged that the assailant shot the clerk because she had repeatedly watched Natural Born Killers three days earlier. If Oliver Stone can be held liable for the shooting, booksellers may become the target of civil suits filed by people who believe that they can link "harmful" books to criminal conduct.

ALA Reports 478 Books Challenged in the United States in 1998

According to statistics collected by the American Library Association, attempts to censor books in public libraries, schools and school libraries in 1998 fell significantly below the record of 762 set in 1995. Still, at least 478 people around the country filed formal, written complaints in an effort either to ban books or to restrict their availability to minors. Because most censorship incidents are not reported to ALA, the actual number of cases is far greater. Judith F. Krug, the director of ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, estimates that there may be as many as 2,000 each year. ABFFE and ALA annually sponsor Banned Books Week to focus attention on the importance of defending books. In 1998, ABFFE distributed promotional material, including a resource guide and posters, to over 700 booksellers, librarians and other supporters of the First Amendment. This year’s Banned Books Week will run from September 25 to October 2.

Huck Finn Wins Case in the Ninth Circuit

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has delivered some good news in a case involving one of the books that is most frequently banned, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Some people believe that the book’s use of the word "nigger" makes it inappropriate for the classroom. An African American parent in Tempe, Arizona, felt so strongly she sued the school board, claiming the use of the book violated her child’s civil rights. Noting that there was no factual support for the parent’s claim that use of the book had led to an increase in harassment against her daughter, the decision warned that if the courts start deciding what books can be taught in school, they will be inundated with demands for censorship:

"White plaintiffs could seek to remove books by Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou, and other prominent Black authors on the ground that they portray Caucasians in a derogatory fashion; Jews might try to impose civil liability for the teachings of Shakespeare and of more modern English poets where writings exhibit a similar anti-Semitic strain. Female students could attempt to make a case for damages for the assignment of some of the works of Tennessee Williams, Hemingway or Freud, and male students for the writings of Andrea Dworkin and Margaret Atwood."

The court acknowledged that expressions of racism and sexism can be hurtful, but it pointed out that they can also help prepare students to fight back. "...[A] necessary component of any education is learning to think critically about offensive ideas–without that ability one can do little to respond to them," it concluded.

New Fight Over Illinois Community Standards Begins

For the third year in a row, anti-pornography groups are pushing the Illinois legislature to permit local communities to ban a wider range of books, magazines and other material with sexual content. Currently, state law prohibits the sale of material with sexual material that is "obscene" according to "community standards." Like most states, Illinois defines community standards as the standards of the state. Anti-pornography groups want juries to be able to ignore the standards of more tolerant communities and to consider only local standards. Booksellers, librarians and others fear that a welter of conflicting standards will make distributors reluctant to send into the state many works with sexual content that have serious literary, artistic and scientific value. As in previous years, ABFFE will work with the Great Lakes Booksellers Association and the Illinois Library Association to defeat the local standards bill.

ABFFE Still Seeking Autographed Books for Silent Auction

ABFFE still needs autographed books to sell in our Silent Auction at BookExpo America. Donate one book, and we’ll make you a member of ABFFE. Give us five books, and you will also receive free registration at BEA. Donations should be sent to Audrey Eisman, the silent auction manager, at ABA, 828 S. Broadway, Tarrytown, NY 10591. If you have questions, call her at (914) 591-2665, ext. 289.

Previously in ABFFE Update