Oregon Denies ABFFE Injunction
-- Publishers Weekly, 6/26/2008 7:37:00 AM
In a hearing held Monday in Portland, Ore. U.S. District Court Judge Michael Mosman denied a request from the American Booksellers For Free Expression to issue a preliminary injunction to block enforcement of Oregon’s “harmful to minors” law until a trial can be held to judge the constitutionality of the statute. ABFFE’s Chris Finan said that while the organization was disappointed with the decision, it was glad that the judge set an early trial date--October 3--for the case to begin.
Under the law, any retailer selling “sexually explicit” works to children under 13 faces up to one year in jail. In its objection, ABFFE noted that the law does not include a requirement that a book or magazine be judged as a whole in determining whether it is illegal. In addition, there is no exemption for material that has serious literary artistic, political or scientific value for minors. In addition to ABFFE six bookstores are plaintiffs--Powell’s Books, Annie Bloom’s Books, St. John’s Booksellers, and 23rd Avenue Books, all located in Portland; Paulina Springs Books, which has stores in Sisters and Redmond; and Colette’s Good Food + Hungry Minds in North Bend.
