Somebody’s got a warped interpretation of what freedom of speech means. Just as a library has the right to chose what books not to stock, it should also have the right to chose what internet web sites not to show. Library patrons wishing to view pornography can go elsewhere to do so. I happen to enjoy watching porn once in a while but I should not be allowed to do so at the expense of taxpayers.
YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY: FOR READING, LEARNING AND … WATCHING PORN (AT LEAST IF YOU LIVE IN NEW YORK)
By Rachel Quigley
Mail Online
April 26, 2011
Traditionally stuffy places full of dust, books and old ladies telling you to be quiet, libraries are about to get a whole lot more interesting.
For as well as enjoying texts by Chaucer and Shakespeare or having some study time, you can now go to your library to watch porn - at least if you live in New York.
New Yorkers at the city's 200 plus libraries can now watch internet porn at their leisure thanks to a policy of free speech protected by the First Amendment.
Brooklyn public library spokeswoman Malika Granville told the New York Post: 'Customers can watch whatever they want on the computer. It's protected by the First Amendment.'
Though many porn lovers are embracing the move with open arms, many library patrons and religious leaders have not been quite so welcoming.
Catholic league President Bill Donohue said: 'What they're doing is publicly funding an appetite for the most debased fare available. It's not like a Playboy centrefold any more - it's far worse.'
The New York Post spoke to library patron Daisy Nazario, 60, who said she was disgusted to see an elderly man watching porn at the Brooklyn Central Library where there were children present.
Though the library provides extensions on the sides of computers to block the full view of the screen - which she said was featuring a threesome at the time - she said she could 'still hear voices'.
She said: 'It is very disrespectful to the children.'
The move has raised concerns over the presence of young people in the library who may be subjected to pornography and the ramifications of this.
A library spokesman told NBC: 'We comply with CIPA (Children’s Internet Protection Act) and our policy forbids users to access materials that are legally defined as obscene, as child pornography, or, in the case of persons under 17, as harmful to minors.
'The library is committed to creating a positive experience for everyone, and we expect those who use the library to do so with respect to our policies and to others.'
Public libraries that receive federal funds are required to filter illegal obscenity and child pornography on Internet-connected computers, but nothing more.
If the porn in question is legal--meaning in essence 'by consenting adults, for consenting adults' - it's free speech, protected by First Amendment rights.
If localities want to further restrict viewing, they must specifically enact a policy.
But even with the filters, anyone 17 years old or older can turn them off and search for any form of sexual content.
The policy further says: 'The library cannot and does not guarantee that the filtering software will block all obscenity, child pornography or materials that are harmful to minors.'
Ray Floyd, who is a frequent visitor to the New York Public Library, said: 'I've seen some people surfing adult stuff. I'm kind of embarrassed for them, I mean why would you do it there?'
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