Which OC City Is Voting To Screen 'Obscene' Books At Libraries?

HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA — The Huntington Beach City Council voted to find ways to make it harder for children to access sexually explicit books at city libraries, multiple outlets reported.

The proposal, submitted by Councilmember Gracey Van Der Mark, passed 4-3 shortly after 1 a.m. Wednesday, June 21. The council's conservative majority ended the discussion by asking the city attorney and city manager to return with options in a September study session, the Orange County Register reported.

During the meeting, Van Der Mark said she wasn't trying to ban books, but remove them from access by children without adult supervision.

The Tuesday meeting ran well into the night because dozens of people signed up to speak about the proposal, ABC 7 reported.

"By banning books, you're basically saying you don't trust us with our families. You're on a slippery slope," one woman said.

Others supported the proposal and claimed that no books were being outright "banned."

"We don't want to ban anything. We simply question whether it is the role of a public library to interfere with the most intimate aspects of children's lives by exposing them to sexually explicit material not authorized by their parents," a man said.