The Latest Breaking News from Llano County

Here's my summary of the May 23 majority en banc opinion by Judge Kyle Duncan in Little v. Llano County,… The post S. Ct. Declines to Rehear Fifth Circuit's Holding That Public Libraries May Select/Remove Books Based on Viewpoint appeared first on Reason.com.

Seven residents launched a challenge in 2022 to the removal of 17 books, which included topics on race and gender. They won a reinstatement of the titles, but lost on appeal.

Libraries have been at the receiving end of book challenges, threats and new laws. Now, some worry a federal appeals court could chip away at long-standing protections.

A 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel in New Orleans heard oral arguments Wednesday for an appeal to overturn a judge’s order that Llano County officials return to shelves books they had removed. It was not clear how or when the appellate panel would rule.

Llano County commissioners had considered closing the three libraries in response to a ruling from a federal judge who ordered banned books returned to the shelves.

Leaders in a rural Texas county held a special meeting Thursday to consider the drastic option of shutting their public library system down rather than heed a federal judge’s order to return books to the shelves ranging from teen sexuality and gender to bigotry and race

From Little v. Llano County, decided yesterday by Judge Robert Pitman (W.D. Tex.): In early July 2021, prior to their appointment to the New Library Board, Defendants Rochelle Wells, Rhonda Schneider, Gay Baskin, and Bonnie Wallace were part of a community group pushing for the removal of children's books that…

Local officials are appealing the order in a lawsuit that drew national attention. Seven library patrons say the book removals infringed their First Amendment rights.

"They can't censor books, unequivocally, based on viewpoints that they disagree with," attorney says