Just days after the city's librarian and library board members objected to the idea, the Phoenix City Council up and banned porn from city libraries and mandated Internet filtering for all sessions by adult users. It's believed to be the first formal, official such mandate in any American city.
Previously, Phoenix, like many cities, mandated such filtering for children's sessions alone and offered adults the option of disabling the filters for their own sessions.
And the American Civil Liberties Union hinted they were prepared to take the city to court over it, even saying the ban was likely to end up in the Supreme Court. "We’ve heard from people who are concerned about this," said Arizona ACLU executive director Eleanor Eisenberg to reporters, without quite saying outright they would sue. "We have several possible plaintiffs."
One could be city librarian Toni Garvey, who was reported to be visibly upset when Mayor Phil Gordon, Vice Mayor Peggy Bilsten, and the council passed the library porn ban unanimously. Gordon and Bilsten seemed unfazed by the ACLU or any other objections, legal or otherwise, after the vote.
"I am willing to take this to court," Bilsten told reporters. "Too many times, we stop short of what we want to do because we are afraid of it going to court. I think this is a great case."
"I don't believe that in our library, which is designed to be family-friendly, we should be obliged to provide access to these materials," Gordon said after the vote. "If we are to be sued, then let the courts decide this case."
The entire controversy began in August, when a child molester telling police he downloaded child porn at the Phoenix Public Library was arrested, "[shaking] the very foundation of what I believe we are here to do, and that is protect families," Bilsten said.
