Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Some Things Never Change


PW Daily and Shelf Awareness reported this morning that Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels signed a new law requiring mainstream bookstores to register with the government if they sell "sexually explicit materials."

Here's what was reported in Shelf Awareness:
One of the bill's sponsors told the Indianapolis Star that the law is aimed at "helping counties that do not have zoning ordinances track businesses selling sexually explicit material, including videos, magazines and books," especially adult stores that open along interstates in the southern part of the state. And a spokesperson for the governor told the Star that the law applies only to new businesses, those that relocate or businesses that begin offering "sexually explicit" material after the law goes into effect.
So if a Borders sells Switchcraft or any of my other books that have steamy love scenes (I think I may have used language like - don't look! - cock), does that essentially make that store a porn peddler in the eyes of Indiana law? Gasp! Does that make me a pornographer? I don't know if I should be aghast or strangely flattered ...

The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) has vowed to fight the law. But check this out:

The Great Lakes Booksellers Association, 15 independent bookstores and Borders Group sent a letter to the governor before he signed the bill. But a statement from the governor's office indicated that he had not received the letter and that "no complaints were brought to our attention."
Uh huh. Sure.

3 comments:

DeAnna Cameron said...

Wow, terrific post, Mary. "A chilling trend," as our old pal Tony Dodero would call it...
Best,
DeAnna

Unknown said...

Absolutely! And I'm surprised that none of this was reported before the governor signed it into law. Scary.

Spy Scribbler said...

Holy crap! You're kidding me! Oh, gawd, that's awful. That's just awful. I totally missed this.

Terrible.

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