Legal Background on Materials
Harmful to Minors
This summary is provided so citizens may review the relevant constitutional standards and Tennessee statutes that address sexually explicit material and the protection of minors.
Concerned citizens in Madison County have raised questions about sexually explicit content in certain books available to minors in the public library. The goal of this effort has never been to restrict adult access to ideas or literature, but rather to ensure that materials containing graphic sexual content are handled in a way that protects minors. The following legal framework explains the laws that guide those concerns.
Federal Constitutional Standard
The United States Supreme Court established the governing definition of obscenity in Miller v. California
https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/413/15/
Material is considered obscene if:
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It appeals to prurient sexual interest under community standards.
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It depicts sexual conduct in a patently offensive way.
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Taken as a whole, it lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.
This remains the constitutional standard used across the United States.
Tennessee Law Protecting Minors
Definition of Obscene Material and Material Harmful to Minors
Tennessee Code Annotated §39-17-901
https://law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/title-39/chapter-17/part-9/section-39-17-901/
Tennessee law recognizes what courts call "variable obscenity."
Material that may be lawful for adults can still be restricted for minors if it:
• depicts sexual conduct or nudity
• appeals to the prurient interest of minors
• is patently offensive for minors
• lacks serious value for minors
Distribution of Obscene Material
Tennessee Code Annotated §39-17-902
https://law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/title-39/chapter-17/part-9/section-39-17-902/
This statute prohibits producing or distributing obscene materials.
Display of Material Harmful to Minors
Tennessee Code Annotated §39-17-914
https://law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/title-39/chapter-17/part-9/section-39-17-914/
This law regulates how materials harmful to minors may be displayed.
Such materials must not be openly displayed where minors have unrestricted access.
Retailers and libraries commonly comply by placing such material in restricted adult areas.
Local Community Concern
Community members raised concerns that certain books contain graphic sexual content inappropriate for minors.
A formal request was made that these materials be relocated to a secure 18+ section, or removed if such a section is not created.
This request was supported by 44 Madison County leaders, including elected officials, pastors, educators, and community members.
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The library ultimately moved most of the titles from the Teen section into the general collection, but did not create a restricted 18+ area.
As a result, the remaining concern is that minors may still freely access these materials, raising questions about whether the protections described in Tennessee’s harmful to minors law are being fully applied.
A Question for the Community
Federal broadcast regulations prohibit explicit sexual content from being aired when children may reasonably be listening.
If passages from these books could not legally be read over public airwaves when children might hear them, many citizens believe it is reasonable to ask:
Why should minors have unrestricted access to the same explicit content in a taxpayer funded public library?
We offer this information so that citizens may understand the law, consider the evidence, and prayerfully decide how best to protect the children of our community.