Alabama lawmakers on Thursday advanced legislation that could see librarians prosecuted under the state’s obscenity law for providing “harmful” materials to minors, the latest in a wave of bills in Republican-led states targeting library content and decisions.
The Alabama House of Representatives voted 72-28 for the bill that now moves to the Alabama Senate. The legislation comes amid a soaring number of book challenges — often centered on LGBTQ content — and efforts in a number of states to ban drag queen story readings.
“This is an effort to protect children. It is not a Democrat bill. It’s not a Republican bill. It’s a people bill to try to protect children,” Republican Rep. Arnold Mooney, the bill’s sponsor, said during debate.
The Alabama bill removes the existing exemption for public libraries in the state’s obscenity law. It also expands the definition of prohibited sexual conduct to include any “sexual or gender oriented conduct” at K-12 public schools or public libraries that “exposes minors to persons who are dressed in sexually revealing, exaggerated, or provocative clothing or costumes, or are stripping, or engaged in lewd or lascivious dancing, presentations, or activities.”
Really? Houses are affordable in California? The majority of people are being paid a wage that keeps up with the cost of living in Pennsylvania?
Because I’m pretty sure that isn’t true.
As someone who was just barely able to afford a 1200sqft house built in the sixties and in need of a good deal of work before interest rates skyrocketed, I can assure you that houses in California are not what most would consider affordable.
They weren’t even affordable when I lived in L.A. 10 years ago.
This may be an unpopular take, but somebody is affording every home that gets bought.
You can make a solid argument that rising rents are immoral, but you can’t make the argument that they signify a weak economy.
That “somebody” is quite often a corporation or a foreign investor.