(LifeSiteNews) — A three-judge panel of the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a 2023 Arkansas law banning the exposure of obscene materials to children, allowing it to be enforced for the first time.

Signed by Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, SB 81 creates the misdemeanor offense of “furnishing a harmful item to a minor,” which consists of giving or selling a minor access to an item or performance that “depicts or describes nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, or sadomasochistic abuse.” 

It would apply to stores, libraries, and event venues, but not “Posting material on an internet website, bulletin board, or newsgroup”; or “Sending material via a mailing list, listserv, or other method of internet communication in which a message is sent to an internet address and then retransmitted to one (1) or more subscribers, that is not administered by the sender.”

The law was swiftly blocked in court, but, on July 30, the 8th Circuit panel finally rejected the challenge, determining plaintiffs lacked standing and rejecting claims that the law was too vague to enforce.

“I applaud the Eighth Circuit’s decision and its careful review of this case,” responded Attorney General Tim Griffin. “The court’s ruling allows Arkansas to move forward in enforcing a law that protects children from obscene materials while increasing accountability for public-library curation decisions.”

John Adams, lead attorney for the plaintiffs, said they were “evaluating all available legal options” for next steps, “including further review by the courts.”

Arkansas under Huckabee Sanders has been proactive in cutting off numerous avenues of radical sexual grooming. Also in 2023, the governor signed the LEARNS Act, which bans the use of materials that “indoctrinate students with ideologies such as Critical Race Theory,” in addition to increasing teachers’ starting salaries to $50,000 and establishing an “education freedom account,” i.e., a voucher program, for parents to choose to send their children to private schools or pursue homeschooling, among other reforms.

Last year, the state enacted another law to ensure religious adoption and foster agencies do not have to place children in same-sex homes or other places that conflict with their faith. Huckabee Sanders also requires all state officials and agencies to use biologically-accurate terminology for the sexes rather than affirming transgender ideology.

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