[Celtjew Libertarian]

When did the first amendment become the shelter of last resort for pornographers ...?

From the beginning. James Madison got in trouble, during his college years, for writing "ribald verse." Given that, I find it hard to believe that, when he drafted the First Amendment, he wasn't looking to protect that sort of literature as much as political speech.

[ivyleaguebrat]

Agreed. Frankly, the political or nonpolitical nature of this material doesn't matter. It is all about local electoral (school board) action.

Having these books in school libraries will be of no consequence to those children who do not seek them out. And for those who do, they offer no more offensive fare than such classics as Bronte's Jane Eyre or Shakespeare's Hamlet, or Twain's Huckleberry Finn.

I have a much younger brother who has read novels which adults might think much premature for his age. Having observed his responses to them, I firmly believe an exposure to the human condition, in whatever its form, can and will enrich the education of children and adults likewise. I cannot believe restricting children in their access to fiction will in some way deceive or befuddle them.

[OriginalIntent]

The first 200 years of our country, under the Constitution certainly did put limits on indecency, pornography and other types of unprotected expression.

The constant chant that censorship is something new is nonsense.