South Carolina House Quietly Kills 'Library Porn' Budget Proviso

South Carolina House Quietly Kills 'Library Porn' Budget Proviso

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina House of Representatives on Friday quietly declined to support the so-called “library-porn proviso,” a budget mandate approved by the State Senate in March which would have blocked libraries from offering books “that appeal to the prurient interest.”

Calling the proviso “unnecessary,” an editorial in the influential Post and Courier newspaper explained that the first version of the amendment introduced by Republican state senator and Christian talk show host Josh Kimbrell actually “came close” to outright calling for state censorship, “prohibiting libraries from having ‘any books or materials that could be harmful to children or that appeals to the prurient interest.’”

The version that the Senate adopted in March and which died in the House last Friday, the paper continued, “removed the breathtakingly broad ‘harmful to children’ language — which could include books about, say, grilling out — and doesn’t require libraries to remove any books. It simply means some books may have to be moved from the children’s sections of county libraries to a special parental section or the general circulation area.”

The House also declined to move forward with what the Post and Courier described as “the next-closest cultural flashpoint,” a requirement for high schools “to post assigned reading lists online by the 15th day of each semester,” which was “a pared-way-down version of the so-called anti-critical-race-theory legislation.”

According to the report, the “library-porn” proviso “set off an outrage when the Senate approved it back in March.”

“We might get to see some performance art on Wednesday, as senators complain about those liberal House members who refused to go along with their restrictions,” the Post and Courier noted, “but after Friday’s votes, this show is over for the year.”

A May editorial in the same paper, criticizing the vague, censorious language proposed by the Christian disc jockey and politician, decried the proviso’s “lack of clarity” as the result of “trying to prevent children from seeing things you don’t want them to see by using language that’s designed to protect them against sexual predators who have clearly developed prurient interests.”

Most young children, the editors continued, “haven’t yet developed ‘prurient interests’ to be aroused; what they have is interest in unfamiliar material that their parents not unreasonably think they’re not old enough to learn about.

“If there’s a problem that needs fixing, lawmakers need to provide some clarity about what the problem is — Is it 'sexually explicit' material that Sen. Kimbrell told the Senate he was targeting? Is it nudity? Is it pictures that involve sexual activity? Is it written descriptions of sex?”

The editorial board even urged lawmakers, if they really meant what they implied, to curtail the chilling effect on free speech of these moral-political stunts by writing down a definition “so librarians don’t have to wonder if descriptions of sexual immorality in the Bible are covered.”

Main Image: State Senator and Christian talk show host Josh Kimbrell (R)

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Adult Industry Educational, Networking Platform 'Imperfectly You' Launches

Imperfectly You, an educational and networking platform for adult industry workers, has officially launched.

Segpay to Launch News Network for High-Risk Merchants

Segpay has announced that it will launch the Segpay News Network (SNN) on April 15.

Age Verification Watch: Patching the Holes

This roundup provides an update on the latest news and developments on the age verification front as it impacts the adult industry.

Pineapple Support to Host Autism Spectrum Support Group

Pineapple Support is hosting a free online support group for performers and creators who are, or suspect they may be, on the autism spectrum.

ImLive Launches Revamped Member Loyalty Program

Cam platform ImLive has revamped its member loyalty program.

GoFundMe Set Up for Danny Ferretti's Medical Expenses

A GoFundMe campaign has been set up for Fangear founder Danny Ferretti, who requires extensive lung surgery.

Byborg Acquires Cuties AI

Byborg Enterprises has acquired adult artificial intelligence startup Cuties AI.

Irish Government Releases Report on Sex Work Decriminalization Legislation

The Irish government has released a report reviewing a 2017 law that decriminalized sex work across the country.

Texas Bill Would Require Age Verification for Online Sex Toy Sales

A new bill in the Texas state legislature would require online retailers to implement age verification of purchasers before selling “obscene devices” to anyone in that state.

New York Assemblyman Proposes Banning the Term 'Sex Work'

Republican New York Assembly Member Brian Maher has introduced a bill to prohibit the use of the term "sex work" in government documents.

Show More