Major Book Publishers Sue Red State Over Law Keeping Sexually-Explicit Books Out Of Schools

A host of book publishers and authors are suing Florida over a law passed last year that cracks down on sexually explicit books in school libraries. 

Over a dozen major publishers and authors joined together to file the complaint in the Orlando Federal Court on Thursday, alleging that the 2023 law that was signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in May 2023 violates the First and 14th Amendments. The publishers claimed the law “interferes” with their ability to make books available and pass out “constitutionally protected” books, and also said the law’s description of “sexual conduct” is too vague.

“Books that are required to be removed under the prohibitions on content that describes sexual conduct or content that is ‘pornographic’ as construed by the State Board are stigmatized, without regard for their value as a whole or their literary, artistic, historical, medical, or educational value as the Supreme Court requires,” the complaint states.

Major publishers listed in the lawsuit include Penguin Random House, MacMillan Publishing Group, Hachette Book Group and Simon and Schuster.

The book publishers do not list specific books, but state in the complaint that they are asking the court to call parts of the law unconstitutional, according to the complaint.

Publishers argued that the law has created a “culture of fear” around the educational communities in the state of Florida, according to the complaint.

“Educators who are already afraid of official state action or action by vigilante members of the public fear the loss of their credentials and livelihood and even threats to their safety,” the lawsuit states.

House Bill 1069, which took effect July 1, 2023, suspends learning materials that are deemed sexually explicit and pornographic. DeSantis supported the bill, which also increases parental rights in the classroom, allowing parents to limit student access and object to learning materials, the bill states.

“Over the past year, parents have used their rights to object to pornographic and sexually explicit material they found in school libraries,” DeSantis said in a February release. “We also know that some people have abused this process in an effort to score cheap political points. Today, I am calling on the Legislature to make necessary adjustments so that we can prevent abuses in the objection process and ensure that districts aren’t overwhelmed by frivolous challenges.”

DeSantis’ office did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.