Latest news with #Kasselman
Yahoo
27-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Big Country Politics: Abilene bookstore owner discuses concerns of House Bill 1375
BIG COUNTRY, Texas () – In this week's episode of Big Country Politics, Arlene Kasselman, owner of the bookstore Seven and One Books, discussed House Bill 1375 and her concerns. House Bill 1375 is legislation in Texas aimed at regulating businesses that distribute obscene content. Censorship concerns rise over Texas bill; Abilene bookstore pushes back 'The thing that caught my attention was the wording on the bill because it actually says, 'anything that is deemed harmful.' But there's not an excavation as in harmful or in bullet points on what this could be. And so when you try to parse out what that means as a bookseller, I'm going, 'Oh, so now it's up for definition,' because it's not just, I think you use the phrase obscene, but I think the language is: is this harmful to a minor?' Kasselman said. Kasselman mentioned that it's scary that this bill allows people to sue businesses based on what they're selling. She noted that book stores are striving, but their profit margins are small. 'If an independent bookstore like mine gets sued, I can't afford the legal fees. I can't afford the potential payouts, and what we noticed is that, in a few cases with certain bookstores that have come under scrutiny, they've tried to settle out of court. We can't afford that either. A bill like this potentially has the effect that small bookstores will close their doors because they can't afford the lawsuits. And the other option is to try to avoid the lawsuits; we either have to close our doors to minors entering the bookstores, or we would have to card people as they are buying things,' Kasselman said. Kasselman expressed her concerns about what qualifies as harmful content, particularly in relation to 'obscene content.' She noted that if a teenager visits a bookstore and their parents discover this, it could potentially lead to a lawsuit. Kasselman also highlighted several important books, including The Diary of Anne Frank, writings by Toni Morrison and Octavia Butler, George Orwell's 1984, and Fahrenheit 451. 'And if a parent deems that it is harmful, we're not talking pornography, I'm a mother, in fact, I'm a Christian mother. And I'm not out there to put things in the hands of children that are developmentally inappropriate or that would be harming them. But, it's this idea that we're going to censure what a book is allowed to carry,' Kasselman shared. Kasselman sees this issue as a form of censorship and explains how she lived through censorship of books and TV when she lived in South Africa. 'I think if we can depoliticize some of these conversations and make them human again, we are probably more similar than we are different. I think the desire is to protect children, and from a bookseller, we're saying, 'Yes, let's make sure children have access to books and bookstores have similar experiences we had as children,' and we would never have something in the store that is directly harmful to children. We are opening a world to children where they can explore, and families can pick… We're not forcing anybody to buy anything, but as a private business, we have multiple options and can invite people in so they can find their own representation in the bookstore, but we're not forcing anybody to buy something against their will,' Kasselman said. Seven and One Bookstore provides a diverse selection of books, including bestsellers, essential historical reads, and current titles that reflect shoppers' trending interests. Kasselman describes the content of each book to ensure that customers feel confident in their choices. While she prefers not to inquire about what someone is purchasing, she is always open to discussing the content of the books. 'We are not screening books; going 'oh, that book has got, this book is written for adult romance that adults will purchase.' I'm not going to say 'you shouldn't buy that book.' I'm going to let you pick that because I feel like that's your right as an American to have that kind of choice. But the way we have the store laid out, I don't have young adult books with my adult romance books; they're put in a separate part of the store,' Kasselman said. Kasselman believes that the vagueness of HB 1375 is problematic and could result in frivolous legal actions. 'What if I have somebody come in who picks a book in my faith section and takes that home? And they have a parent who is not of a faith perspective who feels like everything to do with faith is culty or harmful because they have church hurt? And they may want to sue over that… And then I have another child or young adult who picks up a clean, closed door, which is the term we use when there's nothing sexually explicit in it, a romance book, and takes it home, and that parent doesn't like it, and then they sue? It could be coming from both sides. So what we're saying is, let's have these conversations in bills that specify certain very specific things if you have to have a regulation, or let's have people able to come and make their own decisions in a private business,' said Kasselman. Texas HB 1375 is left pending, and will continue to follow this story as it develops. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Censorship concerns rise over Texas bill; Abilene bookstore pushes back
ABILENE, Texas () – A bill set to be heard by the Judiciary and Jurisprudence Committee at the Texas House is sparking criticism from small business owners across the state. Arlene Kasselman, who owns Seven and One Books in downtown Abilene, is raising awareness on social media about House Bill 1375. 'As independent bookstore owners, the American Booksellers Association and then our regional association keep us up to date on things that are going to affect small businesses, bookstores, and libraries. So, they're very communicative. That's where I first started hearing some of the chatter,' Kasselman recalled. Kasselman began researching the bill and discovered it could have serious implications for small businesses, potentially leading to censorship and limits on educational materials. HB1375 allows individuals to sue if they're harmed by obscene or harmful content, particularly when it's accessible to minors. Under the bill, businesses that help distribute such content can be held liable, and the law lowers the bar for plaintiffs to win those lawsuits. 'With this bill, people can self-define what is harmless because the bill is saying that legal action can be taken against a bookstore that would sell harmful material to a minor. It's already illegal to put things in the hands of a minor that would be harmful to them,' Kasselman explained. 'But this is saying that the bookstore can be sued, and there can be a civil suit based on the minor having harmful material in their hands. But the definition of harmful is the problem. The biggest concern that we have is that for small businesses, first of all, we can't afford the lawsuits.' Censorship efforts at libraries continued to soar in 2023, according to a new report With the definition of what is harmful being so broad, Texas Freedom to Read Co-Founder Anne Russey said that she has heard opinions on why certain books should be banned in public schools and libraries. This bill is different as it targets privately owned businesses. 'For example, to walk into a bookstore and if the child picks up a book that the parent decides they have a problem with, they could kind of raise a frivolous claim, like, oh, that book is harmful to minors under this law,' Russey shared. Russey believes the language in this bill will ultimately harm small businesses and consumers. 'When it comes to private retailers and purchasing, it's really scary to think that the state and the government might be trying to infringe on our liberties to purchase the books that we want to purchase for our families or booksellers freedom to run their business in ways that allow them to generate revenue and income that they put back into their communities through taxes and just all the different ways that bookstores enrich our communities and really serve us as Texans,' shared Russey. Taylor County Republican Chairman Ryan Goodwin has previously voiced support for removing books deemed inappropriate for minors. He noted that conversations about book restrictions have been ongoing for years, but he's skeptical that this particular bill will gain traction. With only one author and no co-sponsors so far, Goodwin doubts it will even reach the House floor. If similar legislation moves forward in the future, he hopes it will include clear and specific language defining what constitutes material harmful to minors. 'In my opinion, I don't see a co-sponsor on this bill, and it seems to still be in committee. So, it hasn't touched the House floor yet. I don't see it making it to the House floor, but we could be surprised, and it could still be vague in some areas. But at this point, it just hasn't had enough momentum yet to make it to the House floor,' said Goodwin. This is the most banned book in Texas Kasselman noted that during her upbringing in South Africa, she witnessed the effects of censorship on her home country. She has a dedicated section for banned books in her store. 'I think the reason it's so significant is that it is really a censorship issue. I grew up in South Africa in a time when all of that information was censored; that was not a healthy situation. In fact, I had a German customer in here who's a resident now in America and lives here in Abilene. He said, 'thank you for having the banned books section, because I know firsthand the cost of banning books and I think if we forget our history and we forget that it really doesn't even take burning books to change a culture, it just takes stopping good people from reading them,'' explained Kasselman. She added that while this bill is still in the early stages, it is something that many bookstores across Texas will watch closely. 'We're given the option of either not allowing minors in the bookstore or having to card people potentially before they can purchase things. Now, am I trying to put pornographic material or overly violent material in the hands of a minor? Absolutely not. But when you have things that are on the book banning list that are like The Diary of Anne Frank or Octavia Butler's writings or 1984 Animal Farm, those are the kind of books that are going to be targeted,' shared Kasselman. The Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee will hear testimony from both supporters and opponents of the bill on Wednesday morning. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
