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.
