BTW News Briefs

Preliminary Injunction to Block Oregon's "Harmful to Minors" Law Denied

On Monday, June 23, U.S. District Court Judge Michael Mosman denied a request for a preliminary injunction that would block enforcement of Oregon's "harmful to minors" law until a trial could be held. The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE), Oregon booksellers, and a coalition of groups filed a lawsuit in April challenging the constitutionality of the law that restricts the display and sale of books and magazines, which are protected by the First Amendment.

ABFFE President Chris Finan said that, while the foundation was disappointed in the judges' ruling, an October 3 trial date was set, and at that time, ABFFE will be able to call witnesses and lay out the case in detail.

Women's National Book Association Names New Leadership

On June 23, the Women's National Book Association (WNBA) named Joan Gelfand, a writer with a focus on poetry and short stories, as its new president. The announcement was made at the WNBAs annual meeting in San Francisco.

Gelfand, longtime Bay Area resident now living in San Francisco, is a past president of the San Francisco chapter and has served on the national board for four years. She is the recipient of numerous awards and is the author of the poetry collection Seeking Center, published by Two Bridges Press.

Joining Gelfand on the WNBA board are Vice President Mary Grey James, lead buyer for Ingram in LaVergne, Tennessee; Treasurer Margaret Auer, dean of University Libraries/Instructional Design Studio at the University of Detroit Mercy, Detroit, Michigan; and Secretary Ruth Light, a Los Angeles-based writer.

ABFFE Book of the Month for June Claim of Privilege

The ABFFE Book of the Month for June is Claim of Privilege: A Mysterious Plane Crash, a Landmark Supreme Court Case, and the Rise of State Secrets by Barry Siegel, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist.

The title from HarperCollins examines the mystery behind a 1948 plane crash and the Supreme Court's landmark ruling in U.S. v. Reynolds, which formally recognized the State Secrets Privilege. The case set a legal precedent enabling federal agencies to refuse to turn over sensitive documents that they say might endanger national security. Claim of Privilege reveals the dangerous consequences of government secrecy and how it threatens our civil liberties.

An interview with Siegel is available on the ABFFE website, www.abffe.com.