Alaska's Top Legal Eagle Warns Public Librarians About 'P0rN'
Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor, who offered to purchase movie tickets for state employees to see the QAnon-adjacent thriller Sound of Freedom, has sent a bizarre letter to public librarians throughout the state.
In the letter to Alaska's public and school librarians, Taylor issued guidance about so-called obscene materials allegedly being pushed on minors in libraries. (This is not even a real thing that is happening.)
"The purpose of this letter is to help inform public servants on what the law is so that no one is caught off guard. You should conduct a review and take steps to assure that your organizations are not violating the law," Taylor's letter states.
The letter outlined that it is the responsibility of librarians to ensure a library's collection of materials does not violate municipal, state, and federal education laws that prohibit the distribution of hardcore 'P0Rn' to minors. The language used in Taylor's letter is similar to rhetoric spewed by far-right extremist organizations such as Moms for Liberty, who falsely claim that public and school library librarians are padding library shelves with pornographic materials.
Taylor also told librarians that the letter's purpose was to bring awareness and assist school districts and libraries in complying with the law.
"Of note is that there are no exceptions to any of the laws listed above for administrators, teachers or for librarians," Taylor wrote, citing in the letter a state criminal law that prohibits distributing indecent materials to minors and another related to the enticement of minors.
It seems probable that Taylor is setting up to join the Republican-led culture wars of the lower 48, which could lead to the arrest of librarians and their staff for allowing library patrons to read whatever the hell they want—like a teen novel that depicts two gay teenagers holding hands or...gasp...kissing.
Taylor's letter is a direct threat to every Alaskan's First Amendment rights, which is pretty rich, especially since right-wing conservatives whine and bitch on social media all goddamn day that their non-existent right to free speech is being violated by privately owned social media platforms which are not bound by the First Amendment.
It is, however, helpful to know that Gov. Dunleavy's Attorney General has no qualms about employing scare tactics as a means to facilitate censorship and intimidate public employees.
And hey, let's face it; none of this is shocking because for MAGA cultists, banning and censoring books written by and intended for members of the LGBTQ+ community and arresting librarians, as has been suggested, is unquestionably easier than parents exercising the "Parental Rights" they love to champion. I mean, what good parent would ever consider going with their child to the library, following them around, and ensuring they aren't reading things they don't want them to?
It takes an incredible amount of nerve for anyone, especially the government, to try and dictate what people can and cannot read in a public library and what is acceptable or not for someone else's family.
The timing of Taylor's letter is a little bit suspicious too—elections are on the horizon, and book-banning activist and author Jackie Ivie, whose smut books are available for anyone to check out from the public library system, is running around the Mat-Su like a chicken with her head cut off yelling "LEWD" to anyone who will listen while she attempts to censor novels like Red Hood from the Wasilla Public Library.
And then we have extremist organization Moms for Liberty, which was able to gain a foothold in Alaska by using a registered agent in Juneau whose business license lapsed last December. Right-wing activists are working to establish additional Moms for Liberty chapters across the state, specifically focusing on launching one in Anchorage.
Republicans Have Misallocated
With all of the drama that played out on the Anchorage Public Library Advisory Board this year, I was curious whether APL had received AG Taylor's letter. So, I sent an after-hours email inquiring whether Director McClure was considering reviewing any materials in the library's collection to ensure compliance with the guidance cited by Taylor in his letter to librarians.
This morning, public library spokesperson Misty Rose Nevick responded, writing that Director McClure had not yet received a copy of the letter, and provided me with a short statement:
"The public library will continue to act under the guidance of our current collection management policy and consult with the Municipal Department of Law as needed."
I have to say, it's disheartening to sit and watch as Republicans misallocate their priorities. Instead of addressing important issues that affect everyday Alaskans, like, oh, I don't know, adequately funding public education—some are oddly fixated on what genitalia your child is packing, engaging in culture wars, hating on LGBTQ+ kids, inventing new ways to silence student voices, and banning books.
Isn't it all just a little bit ironic? What was once a political party supposedly focused on limited government is now the party of controlling women's bodies and dictating what you and your family members can read. Eh, actually, it's not ironic...they've always been this way; they're just being more open about it now.
Hopefully, everyone is paying attention.
This post was updated to include AG Taylor's letter to Alaska librarians and a statement from the Anchorage Public Library.
