John Green and major publishing houses sue Florida over book ban laws
John Green is one of the authors named as a plaintiff in the suit. (Getty)
A federal complaint was filed on Thursday in Orlando, Florida by five major publishing houses and several authors, including John Green, over a law that makes it easier to ban books.
The suit was filed against Florida’s Department of Education as well as the Orange Country and Volusia County school boards.
It claims that a Florida law, HB 1069, which makes it easier to challenge books that contain sexual conduct or are “pornagraphic”, violates the First Amendment rights of publishers, authors, teachers, and students.
The complaint was filed by Hachette, Harper Collins, Macmillan, Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuester, along with SourceBooks, John Green, and author Julia Alvarez.
In a post on X, Green said: “I am among those suing the state of Florida to end the state’s unconstitutional and deeply un-American banning of books. The removal of my books (and so many others) from hundreds of libraries is a despicable attack on intellectual freedom in the U.S.”
The lawsuit argues that the books that have been removed from schools and libraries using the law are “not remotely obscene” and that the wording of the law is too broad and could be used to encompass a wide range of books depending on interpretation.
The Florida Department of Education told Central Florida Public Media that the lawsuit was merely a “stunt”.
“There are no books banned in Florida. Sexually explicit material and instruction are not suitable for schools,” a statement from the department read.
Orange County and Volusia County school boards said they could not comment on the lawsuit.
According to the Florida Freedom to Read Project, HB 1069 has led to thousands of books being removed from schools since it came into effect in July 2023.
Publishers also sued Escambia County in November 2023 for their removal of thousands of books from schools, though it is unclear whether the county used HB 1069 to justify the removal or another piece of legislation, such as Governor Ron DeSantis’ ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law – also known as HB 1557.
HB 1557 has not been named in the publishing houses’ lawsuit, however, but has led to similar removals as HB 1069.
Officials in Charlotte County, Florida ordered the removal of all books and material containing LGBTQ+ characters and themes from classrooms and campus libraries back in September 2023 in order to comply with HB 1557.
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