'Critical attack on our freedoms': Half Price Books argues against Texas bill that could punish bookstores for alleged obscene content – WFAA

DALLAS — Dallas-based Half Price Books is rallying against a Texas bill that, if passed, could result in bookstores facing legal costs if they have content deemed obscene in a way that a minor could access.
Specifically, the bill, HB 1375, authored by state Rep. Nate Schatzline, R-Fort Worth, would hold bookstores legally liable for the “distribution, transmission, or display of harmful material to a minor.” Under the proposed bill, bookstores could be held liable for each instance of exposure to content deemed obscene. The bill does have exceptions for content from news outlets.
The bill’s detractors, including Half Price Books President Kathy Doyle Thomas, call the bill a “threat to all booksellers.”
“The rise of book challenges and book bans has become a critical attack on our freedoms. HB 1375 is a threat to all booksellers,” Doyle Thomas said in a letter sent to a Texas House committee about the bill that was shared on social media. “It will drive business out of local retail and into online marketplaces, which limits the public’s access and does not directly benefit our state economy. I earnestly ask that you not interfere with our ability to do business, nor our customers’ ability to shop for books that are becoming harder to find in our libraries and schools.”
Doyle Thomas called on lawmakers not to vote the bill out of committee. It still has to be considered by the full Texas House before potentially going to the Senate.
“Exposing local bookstores to frivolous lawsuits only serves to fuel the continuous threats against freedom of expression that we have seen across the nation in recent years,” she wrote. “Please do not vote HB 1375 out of committee.”
Schatzline, in a committee hearing on the bill as reported by our content partners at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, said the bill will help protect children.
“As lawmakers, we have a duty to safeguard families and children from exploitation and from the unchecked spread of harmful material in our communities and offline,” Schatzline said, as reported by the Star-Telegram.
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