ABFFE Condemns Humane Society Lawsuit, Welcomes Michigan School Board Decision

February 14, 2007

The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) has condemned a lawsuit filed by the Humane Society of the United States that seeks to force Amazon.com to halt the sale of subscriptions to magazines about cockfighting. The suit was filed by the Humane Society in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia last week after Amazon.com refused the Humane Society's demand that it discontinue the sale of subscriptions to The Feathered Warrior and The Gamecock.

"In its zeal to eradicate conduct that it abhors, the Humane Society is over-reaching by trying to suppress speech that is protected by the First Amendment," ABFFE President Chris Finan said. "Speech that advocates hateful ideas is entitled to the same degree of First Amendment protection as speech advocating popular views. If the courts accepted the Humane Society's argument, we can only wonder what other kinds of controversial ideas in book and magazines would come under attack next. This is why the Supreme Court has declared that even the advocacy of illegal conduct is protected by the First Amendment."

The Humane Society suit claims that the sale of cockfighting magazines violates the Animal Welfare Act, which makes it a crime to use the postal service "for purposes of promoting or in any other manner furthering an animal fighting venture." The society claims that both the editorial content of the magazines and the advertisements they carry promote cockfighting and are therefore illegal.

Finan noted, however, that the Animal Welfare Act does not ban either cockfighting magazines or advertisements. While the section cited by the Humane Society has been applied to those who are engaged in animal fighting, it has never been used to prosecute advertisers, publishers, or distributors. The cockfighting magazines clearly do more than promote animal fights, Finan said. They are also vehicles for political activity. Animal fighting remains legal in some parts of Louisiana and New Mexico, and the cockfighting magazines include news about efforts to ban it.

Humane Society Vice President Michael Markarian told the Associated Press that the society was filing suit because Amazon.com "has not been willing to give up the blood money." Finan said that statement reflects a misunderstanding about the role that the First Amendment assigns to Amazon.com and other booksellers. "We disseminate books and magazines that express all kinds of ideas, including hateful ones," he said. "We are not taking 'blood money' when we do the job that is assigned to us by the Constitution."

As BTW went to press, Finan was scheduled to discuss this issue with a representative of the Humane Society, Wayne Pascelle, on the Culture Shocks radio show. The show will air today, Thursday, February 15, in Los Angeles and Monterey, California; Boston; Washington, D.C.; Daytona Beach, Florida; and Nashville.

ABFFE Welcomes Michigan School Board Decision

On Tuesday, February 13, ABFFE, the National Coalition Against Censorship, the Great Lakes Booksellers Association, Aria Booksellers of Howell, and other free expression advocates welcomed a Michigan school board's decision to reject censorship demands relating to Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye, Richard Wright's Black Boy, Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five, and Erin Gruwell's The Freedom Writers Diary.

On Monday night, the Howell, Michigan, school board voted 5 - 2 to allow high school juniors to continue to read the books.

"This is wonderful news," said ABFFE President Chris Finan. "Despite pressure from two well organized pressure groups, the Howell school board has taken a strong stand in support of the free speech rights of its students."

Last week, ABFFE and the other free expression advocates sent a letter to the Howell Board of Education urging its members to reject calls to ban the books. The movement to ban the books was being led by a local group, the Livingston Organization for Values in Education (LOVE). LOVE was aided by the Michigan chapter of the American Family Association, which also assisted in the filing of a complaint with the State Attorney General and the U.S. Department of Justice, claiming that the books violated laws against child pornography and child sexual abuse.

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