Open Letter to GA Senator Max Burns

SB 74

Edited on 3/17/2025: Changed the percentage of LGBTQ+ challenged books from 97% to 91%

Good Afternoon Senator Burns,

I hope you are taking the opportunity to enjoy this beautiful weather we’re having this weekend. I have CC'd several people in this correspondence and will post this on my blog as an open letter. I had the opportunity to listen to your comments during the recent Senate Education & Youth Committee Meeting regarding a bill that you are sponsoring (SB74) and I would like to address some of those comments. I would also like to address the concerns I have regarding SB74 and some of the tactics being used by those in our community that are advocating for the passage of this legislation.

You noted several times in your comments that you weren’t sure why librarians were ever exempted from the State’s obscenity laws in the first place and I would like to take this opportunity to answer that for you. The reason is because historically, our government has recognized the importance of the role of libraries in providing access to information with a wide breadth of viewpoints available, including materials that are considered controversial or sensitive in nature (i.e. religious/political material, sex education and/or LGBTQ+ content) without fear of prosecution. If library staff are not exempt, they will remove access to any controversial materials just from fear of accusations of impropriety under the law.

As far as my concerns with SB74, the first issue is one of practicality. Many of the public libraries in the State are not large buildings like we are blessed with at the Columbia County Library branch. There simply isn't the space to maintain the collection but somehow segregate it and/or revoke access. Many public libraries are located in very small rural communities with only 1 room (such as the Midville and Sardis branches located in Burke County). Under this legislation, those libraries would have to deny access to teenagers and minors coming into the building because there would be no physical way to keep them out of the adult sections even if they did what Priscilla Bence envisions - destroying the YA/Teen spaces. That would be especially devastating to the community in Sardis, and many like it.

You also stated in your comments that there is similar legislation passed in other States and no librarians have been prosecuted. First, I want to note that similar legislation in Arkansas was already struck down as unconstitutional. Also, most library and school systems will immediately comply with draconian measures to avoid even the threat of prosecution if such a bill is passed. It’s important to note that this proposed legislation does not exist in a vacuum. In our community alone, we have seen constant allegations from activists making false claims regarding “pornography” in the public and school libraries. Under the guise of “age appropriateness,” we have seen how subjective and loose this type of criteria can be applied and often targets LGBTQ+ literature. 91% of the books challenged at the Columbia County Library have LGBTQ+ content. This legislation would allow one group with a certain political and/or religious worldview to then further apply pressure locally to have materials removed or restricted that they personally disagree with based on false allegations of obscene materials. We’ve already seen local activists call anything they don’t like at the library “pornography.”

If this legislation becomes law, the Columbia County Library system would simply comply in order to avoid even the threat of prosecution. In fact, the Columbia County Republican Party Chair, Joe Edlemon, voiced false allegations at a recent event and made a claim that he spoke with Sheriff Whittle and people would be arrested for books in our public library, in order to have members of the Party reach out to you and my Senator, Lee Anderson, to voice their support. I write about that in my blog here with video evidence. I want to make it very clear - none of the material in the Columbia County Library meets the legal definition of obscenity. None of it. However, these accusations from Mr. Edlemon demonstrate the danger of your legislation. He’s already conflating his personal definition of pornography with legal obscenity and advocating for the prosecution of people in our community based on his personal views. Also, in that same blog article, there is some evidence that Priscilla Bence is already advocating for this as well with our local DA, Bobby Christine, although the extent of that activism isn't clear at this time.

I also know that certain materials have been handed out at Columbia County Republican Party meetings in order to garner favor for this legislation. I write about the problems with that information in this blog article. If you are basing your support for this legislation based solely on a packet of materials provided by members of the Columbia County Republican Party, you haven’t been given the full picture. Quite frankly, you have been bamboozled by propaganda. Even then, libraries are institutions of voluntary inquiry. Nobody is forcing anyone to read a book. Books aren't growing legs, jumping off the shelf and ramming themselves into your brain. If anyone feels that a book is not right for them or their children, then they don’t have to pick it up and read it. If they begin reading a book and realize it’s not for them, they can simply stop reading and return the book to the shelf, just like all of the generations before us.

Unfortunately, it has become increasingly clear that there are those in Columbia County who wish to ostracize certain groups of people within our community who don’t conform to their worldview and wish to remove and control access to information at our public library so that it only represents their beliefs. Apparently, in my opinion, based on their actions, our Columbia County Commissioners share that view and I fear you, as well as the rest of the legislative delegation that represents Columbia County believes that as well. However, make no mistake, the “age-appropriate guidelines” passed by the Greater Clark Hills Regional Library for application at the Columbia County Libraries, is a violation of First Amendment Rights, as is SB74. I find it deeply disturbing how readily my local representatives in government are willing to violate my constitutional rights in order to force their political and religious views at public institutions. As a veteran who swore an oath to the US Constitution, I feel very strongly that it is my duty to do everything in my power to fight against these egregious attacks.

Respectfully,

Karin Parham