The Christian County Library has released a recent memo from the district’s attorney, addressing legal questions surrounding book banning and labeling.
Despite a pledge of transparency by the library board of trustees in their April meeting, the document was heavily redacted after a closed meeting between trustees and their attorney Robert Petrowsky. A section titled “Best Path Forward” was entirely redacted.
In April, the board agreed that they no longer consider labeling books as a means of addressing community concerns. The redacted sections would likely shed light on what other options the board may be considering.
Case law cited in Petrowsky’s memo points to the difference between content and viewpoint as well as challenges other institutions have faced when limiting access to materials based strictly on viewpoint. He states, “in order to pass strict scrutiny analysis, the library would have to prove it had a compelling interest in restricting the material, its methods were narrowly tailored, and it used the least restrictive means possible.”
Petrowsky’s document does point towards potential shifts following the inauguration of President Trump and the passage and upholding of the Missouri SAVE act in court.
The SAVE act prohibits gender-affirming care for those under 18. It was upheld following a suit in Cole County which Petrowsky’s said “provides strong support to limit books that contain content suggesting gender affirming care for minors. The procedures are banned and the ban upheld by a court. Limiting content that encourages children to seek out these procedures should be acceptable.”
Later in the document he added, “Many who support LGBTQ efforts are now very vocal that exposure to RFK Jr. or other Trump nominees will turn children from their own values. It may be that time will change the understanding of what exposure to certain materials will do and whether there is a violation of someone’s rights by being exposed to such materials without consent.”
Petrowsky also points to President Trump’s executive order which “banned biological males participating in women’s sports, transgenders in the military, and ending gender transitions for anyone who is a minor.”
The document also cites case law affirming public officials’ protection from liability.
Robert Petrowsky is an attorney at the Springfield law firm, Ellis, Ellis, Hammons & Johnson P.C., which is an underwriter of KSMU.