Banning books: Anderson County mayor and others ask sheriff to investigate

Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank and four county commissioners have asked the sheriff to investigate whether 17 books with sexual and violent content in the county's four public libraries violate Tennessee's criminal obscenity laws.

Anderson County District Attorney General David Clark issued an opinion March 29 saying he would not provide his legal analysis of whether 14 of those books violate obscenity laws. Clark explained his decision:

• He needs additional information on the availability or access to these books by children.

• He's heard not all of the books might be in the county libraries, in which case his and his staff's time could be better spent on other work.

• It would be "inappropriate" to provide an advisory opinion with regard to what could be a criminal matter in the future.

The two letters are the latest actions in book challenges recently faced by the Anderson County Library Board and its four librarians and the staffers who oversee public libraries in Briceville, Clinton, Norris and Rocky Top (Lake City). The Oak Ridge Public Library is not part of the county library system.

What's happened so far

Several people late last year complained and filed reconsideration requests for three children's books at the Clinton Public Library, the largest library in the system, said Joshua Anderson, who lives outside Clinton and serves as chairman of the Anderson County Commission and the library board.

They asked for the three books to be removed because of sexual content.

A committee that included the library director, a library staff member and a board member read the books and denied the request, he said. Then, the full library board read the books and upheld the committee's decision.

Anderson said he then asked for guidance from Anderson County Law Director Jay Yeager. Assistant Law Director Rachel Comunale read the books and looked into state law and a U.S. Supreme Court ruling considered the test for judging obscenity. Comunale opined that the books would not be considered obscene and offered guidance on the display of the books.

The three children's books are: "Families Like Mine" by Marie Therese Miller; "Grandad's Camper" by Harry Woodgate; and, "It Feels Good to Be Yourself: A Book About Gender Identity" by Theresa Thorn and Noah Grigni that reportedly were in the county libraries.

The assistant law director sent a letter to Clark asking for his opinion on the 14 books because, as Yeager told The Oak Ridger in an interview, it was "too close of a call" for his office in regard to whether the content of the books is obscene. The books reportedly were in the county libraries, some adult and young adult books, some graphic novels. Some are adult or young adult books, some are graphic novels.

Comunale wrote, in regard to "if they would then rise to the level of a misdemeanor or felony according to ... (state laws) or any other applicable statute regarding distributing these materials to minors, enticing minors or sexual exploitation of minors."

Anderson County Commissioner Anthony Allen of Oak Ridge said people he would identify only as "researchers" went to the four county libraries and found copies of up to 14 books, all at the Clinton library and some at the other three, that contained what they believed to be objectionable content and presented him with the information.

No request to reconsider for those 14 books has been filed, Anderson said.

Allen said he made copies of the information for each Anderson County commissioner and the mayor. A motion to have a public hearing on the matter was voted down by the Anderson County Commission on Feb. 21 by a vote of 11-4. The four who voted in favor of a public hearing are the four who joined Frank in asking Sheriff Russell Barker to investigate the matter: Commissioners Allen, Tim Isbel and Shain Vowell of Rocky Top and Denise Palmer of Clinton.

Anderson said he believed most of the 11 commissioners who voted against the public hearing called by the County Commission wanted the library board's process and policies for challenging books to function as prescribed.

Given the controversy, the library board called a public forum on the issues March 27 at the Clinton Community Center.

Anderson said approximately 260 people attended the forum. Individuals spoke for three minutes, with public comment extending to about two and a half hours.

Opinions were voiced, many supporting the librarians and the library board, others objecting to sexual and violent content in the books.

The Bible and events in the news such as the shooting earlier that day at a Nashville school that killed three adults and three children were cited by opponents to the books. Those supporting the books, library board and librarians talked about free expression of ideas and the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, the banning of books by Adolf Hitler and other issues.

The mayor and four commissioners' letter for Barker, the sheriff, to investigate was dated March 22. It comments on statements made by a woman at the February County Commission meeting about two of the books and their "pornographic" aspects and how they are available at the county-funded libraries.

The letter to Barker states: "While the Anderson County library system has a procedure for how to address questionable content, there is no clear guidance regarding how to proceed if one perceives a violation of obscenity statutes has occurred. ... We do understand that there are laws based on the concept of variable obscenity - that is, material may not be obscene when viewed by adults, but may be when viewed by children. We understand that there are laws to do no harm to minors."

Anderson County Commissioner Stephen Verran of Oak Ridge, who ran as a Democrat in the 2022 elections, said during the forum that the packet on the 14 books was put together by the Republican National Committee "to spread hate in our community." He said it discriminated against the LGBTQ community, and that Jesus Christ in the Bible said for people to love one another.

Asked if the book challenges were coming from the Anderson County Republican Party, Isbel in a brief interview said it was a "coincidence" that he and the challengers to the books are Republicans. He pointed out that when he spoke at the forum about the violence in "Assassination Classroom," a manga graphic novel that depicts students killing their teacher, who is a space alien, he identified himself as a conservative Christian and explained that he was also representing his constituents. He said as a former library board member he knows books can't be banned but can be restricted for display and access to certain age groups.

"I'm very open about this; I'm not trying to hide it," Allen told The Oak Ridger in talking about his opposition to the books being in the libraries. He distributes information that was given to him on the books to anyone who requests it, cautioning them about the content.

"No one is trying to ban books," he said. However, he said he and others want them removed from the county's public libraries where children can read them and see the images. He said such books wouldn't be found in waiting rooms of businesses or offices at the Anderson County Courthouse.

"There's going to be some adult material in a public library," Anderson said.

He said some of the books are also in local school libraries and the Oak Ridge Public Library, as well as other libraries. He said it's ultimately up to parents to supervise what their children read. He and the Clinton librarian pointed out that children age 10 and younger are not allowed in the county's public libraries without adult supervision.

Information on how books and other media are chosen, requests for reconsideration and more policies for the four libraries are on the Clinton Public Library website at clintonpubliclibrary.org.

Donna Smith is The Oak Ridger’s news editor and covers Oak Ridge area news. Email dsmith@oakridger.com. Twitter: @ridgernewsed.

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This article originally appeared on Oakridger: Books controversy: Anderson County mayor asks sheriff to investigate