John Wahl on library board rule changes: 'We did the right thing'

Earlier this month, the Alabama Public Library Service (APLS) approved an amended list of proposed administrative rule changes put forward by Governor Kay Ivey. The changes addressed the issue of sexually explicit books being placed in the children’s sections of libraries in the state.

The new rules say libraries must address how minors “are safeguarded from sexually explicit material deemed inappropriate for children or youth.” They are also supposed to have a policy outlining where books will be located or relocated if they are “sexually explicit or other material deemed inappropriate for children or youth.”

Alabama GOP Chairman John Wahl, who also is an ALPS board member, discussed the issue recently on WVNN’s “The Yaffee Program.”

“What this vote means is Alabama now has some of the strongest requirements in the country to make sure that we safeguard our children,” Wahl said. “And then parents can tell that they’re not going to accidentally stumble across sexually explicit material in our libraries….The board made a firm decision and clearly stood with the parents of Alabama, standing up for the rights and the freedoms of our parents, and putting families first.”

Wahl also addressed some of the criticism about the new policies.

“There are those who want to paint this as censorship,” he said. “They just want to paint this as book banning. And I want to be very clear about that, you’re not going to find someone who’s more supportive of the First Amendment or freedom of speech than I am. I would never advocate for government telling somebody what they can or cannot read. At the same time. We’re not talking about censorship here. We’re not talking about book banning. We’re talking about should sexually explicit material be in the children’s sections or libraries? And I firmly believe the answer is no.”

“We have a duty as a society to protect our children,” he added. “And we have since the beginning of time, you know whether whether it’s reading the movies, whether it’s video game, radio, or TV shows we don’t want children drink. We don’t want children smoke. My question is why are libraries any different?”

Wahl said he was also thankful that this was solved by the board instead of the Legislature.

“And so I think in this area, this was very much a board decision,” he explained. “Now if the board failed to do the right thing, I think then the legislature has a duty to their constituents to come in and correct it. But I think in the case of the library board, we just did the right thing. We did the right thing. I’m proud of my fellow board members. I’m proud of Kay Ivey for kind of stepping in and highlighting the need for this and supporting the board. And in the end, the winners here are the people of Alabama. Their governement officials heard what was needed, and they addressed it. And I think that this was very appropriate. This was the proper channel, the proper group.”

Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on X @Yaffee