Publishing giant Penguin Random House and a group of well-known authors, including John Green, filed a lawsuit against the state of Iowa on Thursday for its ban on books in public school libraries that showcase sexual activities.
The lawsuit challenges a new state law that bans books that include sexual content all the way through 12th grade — there is an exception for religious texts. It also bans books that address gender identity or sexual orientation for elementary school students.
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“Authors have the right to communicate their ideas to students without undue interference from the government,” the lawsuit, filed in federal court in the Southern District of Iowa, said.
The lawsuit is seeking a court order that deems the new law “unconstitutional” and says it violates freedom of speech.
Gov. Kim Reynolds (R-IA) defended the law in a statement this week, claiming the law is “protecting children from pornography and sexually explicit content,” according to the Associated Press.
The law was passed earlier this year and signed by Reynolds in May. The fall semester is the first semester it has gone into effect, and it includes bans on popular American classics like The Color Purple by Alice Walker, Native Son by Richard Wright, and 1984 by George Orwell. Green’s novel The Fault in Our Stars and Margaret Atwood’s novel The Handmaid’s Tale have also been banned.
The lawsuit is the second one this week after the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa and Lambda Legal sued the state on Tuesday, arguing that the measure violates the constitutional rights of LGBTQ students.
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“PRH’s mission is to ignite a universal passion for reading by creating books for everyone and creating a world where independent thinking, free expression, and creativity flourish,” Thursday’s lawsuit said. “Continued inclusion of its books in public school libraries and classroom collections is critical to PRH’s mission, especially for books intended for elementary and young-adult readers.”
Iowa’s book ban is one of many bans across the country as public schools and libraries crack down on sexual content that is accessible to children. Some of the bans are on the state level, and others are tied to specific libraries and schools. Hundreds of the bans have been challenged so far.
