An Obama-appointed judge directs the Texas District to replace library books with controversial transgender and racist content

a judge ordered Officials at a Texas county to replace books that had been removed from libraries because of controversial content related to transgender and racial issues.

The lawsuit against Llano County was filed in April by seven Llano County residents who opposed the removal of the books.

Among the 12 books removed were Jazz Jennings’ Being Jazz: My Life as a (Transgender) Teen and Isabel Wilkerson’s Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents.

The lawsuit alleges that the actions of county officials constituted a violation of their first and 14th amendment rights.

U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman directed officers to return the books to libraries and online in digital form.

“Although libraries are afforded a great deal of discretion in their selection and acquisition decisions, the First Amendment prohibits the removal of books from libraries on grounds of visual or content discrimination,” Pitman said.

The county officials’ attorneys argued that the removal of the books was part of regularly scheduled book weeding, but the judge dismissed that reasoning as many in the public demanded that the books be cut out.

A lawyer for the plaintiffs called the verdict a “ringing victory” for democracy.

“The government cannot tell citizens what they can and cannot read. Our nation was founded on the free exchange of ideas, and banning books you don’t agree with is a direct assault on our most basic freedoms,” said Ellen Leonida.

Pittman was appointed U.S. District Judge for the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas by former President Barack Obama in 2014.

He made headlines in 2021 when he temporarily blocked Texas’ abortion restrictions after calling the procedure “a significant and well-established constitutional right.”

Here is more about the Texas court order:

Llano County has been ordered by a federal court to return removed books to its library systemwww.youtube.com

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