Two siblings lying on the sofa reading a book smelling something stinky and disgusting, intolerable smell, holding breath with fingers on nose. bad smell Photo: Shutterstock
In Texas, a local county judge has all but appointed himself head librarian in his county, and a dispute over “books about butts and farts” is now the subject of a federal appeal.
In 2023, an aggrieved resident in Llano County, Texas near Austin approached a local county judge complaining about several books in the local library, according to Tech Dirt. Rather than directing the individual to library staff to lodge their complaint, Judge Ron Cunningham took on the library director’s role himself and ordered the books removed from shelves — including “books about butts and farts.”
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Llano County Commissioner Jerry Moss, as well, inserted himself into library business when he ordered the library’s director to comply with the judge’s order, saying she should “pick her battles,” and that her refusal to comply would bring “bad publicity” to the county.
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With “books about butts and farts” removed — one juvenile title was Gary the Goose and His Gas on the Loose — Judge Cunningham then took up another complaint that included a list compiled by former Texas state Rep. Matt Krause (R) of books that he considered to be “pornographic filth.”
Based on that list, Judge Cunningham ordered the library director to remove all books that “depict any type of sexual activity or questionable nudity.”
It could have been worse.
As a result, 17 titles — including children’s books, books with LGBTQ+ content, and at least two books addressing racism — were ultimately removed from shelves. Among them were They Called Themselves the K.K.K: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group by Susan Campbell Bartoletti and It’s Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex and Sexual Health by Robie Harris.
A lawsuit quickly followed challenging the local judge’s orders.
A lower court agreed that plaintiffs had shown Llano officials were “driven by their antipathy to the ideas in the banned books” and the books were ordered back on shelves.
Llano County then appealed, and the case was addressed by a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, covering Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. The judges split in a three-way decision, with a majority partly agreeing with the plaintiffs. They ordered eight of the 17 disputed titles reinstated.
But the case didn’t end there.
The Fifth Circuit’s opinion was then vacated after a majority of the same 17-member court granted Llano County officials a new hearing before the full court.
The order for the new hearing didn’t give a reason, and the new hearing’s date has yet to be scheduled.
