A federal judge temporarily blocked the enforcement of two parts of an Iowa state law that would ban books and curriculum from schools that discuss gender identity or sexual orientation.
US District Judge Stephen Locher’s preliminary injunction was filed on Friday and blocks the enforcement of two provisions of the law – the book bans and curriculum restrictions – which was set to go into effect on January 1.
Locher called the ban “incredibly broad” and noted the law has already resulted in the removal of hundreds of books from Iowa libraries.
These books include Pulitzer Prize winning books and nonfiction history books, many that appear on Advanced Placement exams and “even books designed to help students avoid being victimized by sexual assault,” according to the ruling. The restrictions likely violated the First Amendment, the ruling said.
Two lawsuits were filed against the Iowa law, one by ACLU Iowa in November and another by publisher Penguin Random House in early December.
About one-third of the titles banned are books about race or racism or feature characters of color. About 26% of the titles have LGBTQ+ characters or themes.
