Florida AG argues public school libraries are forum for government, not private speech

ORLANDO, Fla. — The legal fight over book bans continues in Florida.

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Florida’s Attorney General Ashley Moody argued in court that public school libraries are a forum for government, not private speech.

The attorney general claimed the First Amendment does not bar the government from making viewpoint-based choices about what books should be available in libraries.

Watch: Librarians facing more staffing challenges, threats and even violence amid book bans

This comes amid a growing number of book bans nationwide with many of them in Texas, Florida and South Carolina.

One nonprofit found that there were 1,477 instances of books banned during the first half of the 2022-23 school year.

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