Free Expression

With debate picking up in Washington over reauthorization of sections of the USA Patriot Act that are set to expire on February 28, the Campaign for Reader Privacy is urging supporters to ask their members of Congress to support the restoration of safeguards for reader privacy eliminated by passage of the act in 2001.

The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression has a new address.

Sales at Wi6 of a T-shirt featuring an “enhanced” version of the classic painting “Washington Crossing the Delaware” will benefit the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression.

Last week, President Obama signed into law a new ban on the sale of animal “crush” videos, which replaces a 1999 law struck down in April as a violation of the First Amendment. The new law applies to a narrower range of material, but it has raised concerns for ABFFE and other free speech advocates.

Booksellers win battle against Grand Rapids ordinance; Year-end “best books” lists

ABFFE President Chris Finan talks about the recent controversy regarding Amazon.com’s decisions to sell and then pull from its website a constitutionally protected work that is, nonetheless, abhorrent to many.

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington ruled this week that Amazon.com would not have to comply with the North Carolina Department of Revenue’s request for data revealing the identities of North Carolina customers and “detailed records of their purchases, including the expressive content.”

A federal district court has granted a preliminary injunction against an online censorship law that went into effect in Massachusetts earlier this year. In July, Harvard Book Store, Porter Square Books, and ABFFE joined in a suit to block the law because it imposes severe restrictions on constitutionally protected speech on the Internet.

The Federal District Court in Anchorage has granted a preliminary injunction requested by Alaska booksellers, libraries, and other First Amendment and media organizations.

Hundreds of booksellers are supporting the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression and its all-important work in the fight against censorship by selling products in the ABFFE affiliate program, including reading glasses, bookmarks, and incense.

On Monday, September 20, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that two Oregon statutes that criminalize the distribution of sex education and other non-obscene materials to minors are unconstitutional.

On September 17, Media Coalition filed a friend-of-the-court brief urging the Supreme Court to strike down California’s restrictions on video games with violent themes. The brief was signed by five Media Coalition members, including the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression.

Booksellers are stocking their shelves with books that have been deemed vulgar, violent, or offensive in preparation for Banned Books Week, a national celebration of the freedom to read, which takes place from September 25 - October 2.

Interested in learning what it takes to be a successful writer in today’s marketplace while enjoying a remarkably beautiful setting? Take a chance on winning the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression’s raffle of a trip to the October 21 - 23 FIU/Books & Books International Writers Conference in the Cayman Islands.

Maroma, a supplier of incense and other aromatic products from India, is the newest partner in the affiliate program sponsored by the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression.