Will guidelines from Landry be followed now?

The members of the St. Tammany Library Accountability Project are not ready to claim “victory” just yet.
But there were a lot of smiling faces after Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry held a press conference on Tuesday morning to release results of his “Protecting Innocence” project. His office began work months ago that led to a report which is setting consistent guidelines statewide for libraries on the matter of sexually explicit materials currently available to children.
The library controversy that has been on red alert for over six months is continually called “book banning” and “censorship” by those who do not agree with the Accountability Project goals.
That is not what this is about. Nor is it an attack on gay, lesbian or transgender individuals. But those who do not want any sexually explicit materials taken away from the accessibility of children continue to try and spin it that way—quite incorrectly.
From the beginning, this has been about taking those sexually explicit books and other materials out of the main public library areas where minor children can access them. None of the Accountability Project members have called for banning or censoring anything.
What they have asked for is a restricted section for all these materials that would require parental approval to access. How is it different from the years-old policies across the country that govern R-rated movies? It is not.
On Tuesday, Landry announced guidelines for all public libraries in Louisiana, with legislation that will be filed in the spring session, to order library directors and library boards to follow the new rules. If they do not, they cannot seek millage or tax support from the public, and St. Tammany has a 10-year millage renewal coming up in one year that provides 97 percent of their revenue.
The incredible thing is that 99 percent of the people who see the materials in question seem to quickly agree that they should not be freely accessible for children. But even when the restricted sections are set up, the materials are actually still accessible to all—only that you need a parent to approve it.
One individual called this “such a logical thing,” so it is hard to understand how some public bodies have not taken a stand to address it in some manner. But thankfully, AG Landry did not shy away from the issue after coming to a Slidell meeting held by the Republican Party Executive Committee, which addressed the matter with over 400 concerned citizens attending in the Slidell Municipal Auditorium.
At this point we can only hope for library officials to heed the direction. As Landry said, children are still mostly innocent and should not have access to these materials unfettered. His report, and proposed legislation that is coming this spring should ensure that. (See the full report and examples from the books online at: agjefflandry.com)
Library Director Kelly LaRocca and the St. Tammany Library Board of Control have been given their marching orders. Let’s hope they finally settle this incredible situation that has gone on for too long.