North Dakota Gov. Strikes Down Conservative Bill Restricting Books For Minors

However, a two-thirds vote in favor of the bill in both the state's Senate and the House could override Gov. Kelly Armstrong's veto.

North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong (R) blocked a bill that would have required libraries to put books that feature sexually explicit material in areas that are “not easily accessible” to minors.

The bill, which would have applied to public libraries and libraries at public schools, also threatens prosecution against those that don’t comply.

A two-thirds vote in favor of the bill in both the state’s Senate and the House could override Armstrong’s veto. But it passed narrowly in both chambers with neither side of the legislature hitting the two-thirds threshold — by a 27–20 vote in the Senate in February and a 49–45 vote in the House earlier this month.

“While I recognize the concerns that led to its introduction, Senate Bill 2307 represents a misguided attempt to legislate morality through overreach and censorship,” Armstrong wrote in a Tuesday letter explaining his decision. “The bill imposes vague and punitive burdens on professionals and opens the door to a host of unintended and damaging consequences for our communities.”

“In the last 10 years, The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank, Of Mice and Men, Slaughterhouse-Five, The Kite Runner, 1984, and To Kill a Mockingbird have all been targeted by obscenity laws,” Armstrong added. “I don’t pretend to know what the next literary masterpiece is going to be. But I want it available in the library. And if a parent doesn’t think it is age-appropriate for their child, then that is a parenting decision. It does not require a whole-of-government approach and $ 1.1 million of taxpayer money.”