Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Censorship in the Hooser State

I got my MLS at Indiana University and have a soft spot in my heart for the Hoosier State. It is a red state, as is PA where I live now. I saw a link to a Indystar article this morning that the Indiana governor just signed a bill making bookstores register before they can sell sexually explicit material. The law is clearly aimed at sex shops along freeways, but "sexually explicit" is so broadly defined that many bookstore owners are very worried it could apply to the great classics such as The Three Musketeers, Beloved, or even The Bible. I mean, the Old Testament has some really racy stuff in it, but come on! I think this fear is legitimate, this gives censorship advocates all they need to start launching campaigns against bookstores. I doubt Barnes & Nobel and Borders will have many problems they can't handle, but defending oneself could be the end of an indie bookstore. The governor claimed to have received no complaints. This sounds like a typical politician to me.

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