On June 20, Mayor Pro Tem Gracey Van Der Mark asked her fellow city council members to support her proposal ordering public libraries to limit what books and resources minors can access. In her Council Member Issue Statement, Van Der Mark argues that the Huntington Beach Public Library has made no efforts thus far to protect children from “obscenity [and] pornography” within its walls and website. 

Van Der Mark further cites the Department of Justice’s laws regarding obscenity and distribution of pornographic content as the primary defense of her proposal. The First Amendment, however, poses an interesting barrier to Van Der Mark’s plan, but her statement addresses a solution to the issue by having the city’s attorney review all objected material. This idea raised concerns in the community as the city attorney does not have a degree or experience in library sciences. 

Council Meeting 

The Council meeting on June 20 ended with a 4-3 split decision for Van Der Mark’s proposal. The meeting was open to public comment, lasting roughly five hours, with most comments opposing the item. In response to the public’s reaction, Councilwoman Natalie Moser said, “It felt like a very non-partisan issue.” 

According to the Huntington Beach Public Library’s catalog, Van Der Mark inaccurately reported that some adult books were children’s books. Van Der Mark also presented passages from Sex Education books, which do not qualify as obscenity or pornography under federal law. These books are recommended for ages 14 and up; the same-age students in the Huntington Beach Unified High School District are expected to complete a health course that covers subjects related to sexual health and drug use.

During her item report, Van Der Mark mentions the objection she raised over the book “Gender Queer,” which was moved from the young adult section to the adult section as a result. Van Der Mark also commented on her experience working at a library and its review process on every book in the system. The Huntington Beach library has over 150,000 hardcover books in circulation alone, which would be impossible for the city attorney to keep track of and review individually. Public discourse has focused on what books Van Der Mark presented as objectionable, as the majority carried queer themes. 

Moser said, “I think it’s intentional on her part and also as a greater effort among groups like Moms for Liberty, who are all targeting the LGBTQIA+ community. Here, absolutely, I think it’s very clear the books selected were primarily LGBTQIA+.”

The Miller Test and Books Submitted for Censorship

For the most part, obscenity is a subjective topic. Van der Mark references “The Miller Test” that the United States government uses to define obscenity, which makes it clear in its application that work should be considered “in its entirety” and not just for specific sections during review. In an article published on June 16 by the O.C. Register, Van Der Mark poses with an array of books like “Gender Queer: a Memoir” by Maia Kobabe and “S.E.X., Second Addition” by Heather Corinna. 

Both books exist within the Adult Section at the library and are not readily available to children. When “The Miller Test” is applied to either of these texts, they both pass. “S.E.X., Second Addition” acts as an informational guide to all things, including taboo topics related to the body, while “Gender Queer” discusses sex as a part of coming-of-age. According to the Miller Test, topics of this nature are not pornographic but informative or relevant in the story’s context. 

On Oct. 3, Moser said, “All these tests are happening via the publisher, and Mayor Pro Tem Van Der Mark lied about where they could be found and where they should be found.” 

The meeting regarding the proposed safeguards will occur on Oct. 17. 

The Bigger Picture 

Within the last six months, similar measures have been brought up within the Orange County area. In Huntington Beach specifically, recent majority-passed items include banning the pride flag on city property and disbanding the Human Relations Committee. With both measures, the dissenting votes were the members of the minority party: Councilpersons Rhonda Bolton, Dan Kalmick, and Moser. Councilman Pat Burns said in his item report relating to flags flown on city property that “the City of Huntington Beach should avoid actions that could easily or mistakenly be perceived as divisive [and] only fly or display on City-owned property the American, POW/MIA, State of California, and the Huntington Beach City flags.” 

While the flag measure passed in February, the rewriting of the “Policy on Human Dignity” and  dissolution of the Human Relations Committee occurred on Sept. 5. The resolution claims the Human Relations Committee is “no longer necessary.” 

Councilmember Moser says, “It’s an effort, especially based upon the new policy on human dignity, to erase people.”

Oct. 17 Update 

In September, the city council decided to put off their proposal until Oct. 17. In this most recent council meeting, members presented a review of councilmember item 2023-532, which discussed their findings from an investigation on books available to the public. Within that investigation, they found that published books must pass “The Miller Test” to hit the shelves. As opposed to what was first presented by Van Der Mark in having the city attorney review questioned books, the new ideas presented were to have a panel review books and a new card added to the library. In addition to the card requiring parent permission to obtain, the council is hoping to eventually ban unaccompanied minors from the library and gather information to inform parents about the content of books in the public library.