Fight for Reader Privacy To Continue

The reelection of President George Bush set the stage for a major battle next year over the reauthorization of Section 215 and other controversial sections of the PATRIOT Act that are due to expire on Dec. 31, 2005. Bush campaigned on a platform that prominently featured his support for the PATRIOT Act, and he has already said that he believes it is essential to make these sections permanent.

The sponsors of the Campaign for Reader Privacy, www.readerprivacy.org, vowed to continue their fight to amend Section 215. In September, these groups--the American Booksellers Association, the American Library Association, the Association of American Publishers and PEN American Center--presented members of Congress with petitions bearing over 185,000 signatures. The groups will meet in Washington on December 1 to plan for next year.

Two leaders in the effort to amend Section 215 will return to Congress next year to continue the fight. Rep. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), the sponsor of the Freedom to Read Protection Act, was reelected with 68 per cent of the votes cast. Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI), the only member of the Senate to vote against the PATRIOT Act, had a much tougher race. His Republican opponent created TV ads that criticized Feingold for his PATRIOT Act vote. Nevertheless, Feingold won by a margin of 56 to 44 per cent.

The Campaign for Reader Privacy continues to collect signatures on its online petition. Although the petition campaign in bookstores has ended, the American Booksellers Association is still receiving paper petitions. They may be sent to Oren Teicher, ABA, 828 South Broadway, Tarrytown, NY 10591.


ABFFE Joins Debate Over Intelligence Reorganization

In the final weeks before the election, Congress struggled to pass legislation reorganizing the country's intelligence agencies. The bills that finally passed the House and Senate were significantly different. The Senate version, which was approved with broad, bi-partisan support, generally followed the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission and included a provision creating a civil liberties board to guard against abuses of the new powers that have been given to the government to fight terrorism. The House bill departed from the 9/11 Commission report in several respects. Incorporating a number of controversial provisions from the so-called "PATRIOT II" legislation, it failed to include a civil liberties board.

ABFFE endorsed the Senate's approach to intelligence reform, joining ACLU and other civil liberties group in several joint letters to Congress at different stages of the debate. The House and Senate are expected to resume negotiations on a compromise bill when Congress returns for a lame-duck session next week.


Arkansas Supreme Court Clarifies New Display Law

The Arkansas Supreme Court has issued a decision that increases the chances that a new state law banning the display of "harmful" books and magazines will be held unconstitutional. The law appears to require booksellers to segregate books and magazines with sexual content in a section of their stores that is not accessible to minors. ABFFE, That Bookstore in Blytheville and others have challenged the law on the grounds that it would make it difficult for adults and older minors to gain access to a wide range of constitutionally protected material, including novels and sex education books.

The Attorney General of Arkansas has argued that the law applies to relatively few works. The federal judge who is presiding over the case asked the Arkansas Supreme Court to guide him on how state law should be interpreted in determining the scope of the new statute. On Oct. 21, the Supreme Court announced that the law is much broader than the Attorney General says and would clearly require the segregation of a book like "Joy of Sex." The decision is expected to clear the way for the federal court to declare the law unconstitutional.