AG offers guide to keep sexually explicit materials out of the hands of
children, while ensuring librarians can promote healthy viewpoints.
BATON ROUGE, LA – Joined by concerned parents and
lawmakers, Attorney General Jeff Landry this morning released the Protecting
Innocence report – a thorough examination on the state of public libraries, the
access children currently have to material that is far from age-appropriate,
and potential solutions that citizens may take to protect children’s innocence.
“The Protecting Innocence report gives parents and
officials the tools they requested to protect Louisiana’s children from
sexually explicit material,” explained Attorney General Landry. “Our report
shows how community libraries can maintain healthy educational environments
that allow for young minds to grow, while making sure minors do not have
unrestricted access to materials that are inappropriate for their age group.”
The report, which is available to those 18 years and
older at www.AGJeffLandry.com/ProtectingInnocence, includes links to library
policies across the State, sample letters for writing lawmakers about this
issue, and other potential solutions (including model legislation) to the
problem of minor children having access to sexually explicit materials within
our public libraries. Nowhere in the report are there calls for banning
books or censoring voices.
“One solution we recommend is updating our library card
system so that parents can ultimately choose what materials are appropriate for
their children, which then takes pressure off of the librarians and puts more
power back into the hands of parents – where it belongs,” said Attorney General
Landry. “I invite parents to download the report and get involved as they see
fit.”
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Video from this morning’s release may be found at www.facebook.com/agjefflandry.