The National Council of Conservative Citizens (CofCC) and St. Louis Area Civil Rights Attorney Bob Herman have filed Civil Rights Lawsuits against four Public Library Districts in the St. Louis Metropolitan Area. The four districts are: Festus, Maplewood, Valley Park, and University City, all in Missouri.
The suits, filed today (March 13, 2006) in the Eastern Missouri District of the U.S. Federal District Courts, allege that the Library Districts are unconstitutionally blocking access to the internet website of the Council of Conservative Citizens. The suits seek injunctive relief, so that the libraries would provide at least one internet connection for adult patrons that is totally unfiltered so that adult patrons may access the website.
In 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional for Public Libraries to use internet filtering software to block access to certain websites for all patrons. Public Libraries and similar institutions must establish at least one unfiltered internet terminal for adult patrons to access content that would otherwise be filtered.
[...] A 14-year old Freshman at Farmington (Mo.) High School is in a fight with the school district over his enthusiastic wearing of Confederate clothing. He has enlisted the legal assistance of Bob Herman, who is himself rather busy these days. [...]
[...] you know, the Council of Conservative Citizens has recently become very interested in public libraries’ web censorship, and will soon become interested in public schools doing the [...]