Psst... Wanna Buy a Book?

dirty-book.jpgTo the dismay of Hoosier booksellers, Gov. Mitch Daniels has signed into law a bill to fine businesses that sell sexually explicit material. Their concern is that the law is so broadly written that it lumps in bookstores that carry those racy old James Joyce and D.H. Lawrence titles with porn peddlers.

"The way we read this bill, if you stock a single book with sexual content -- even a novel or a book about sex education -- you will have to register as a business that sells sexually explicit material," said Chris Finan, president of American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression.

"This is just outrageous from our standpoint, and we believe it is a violation of the First Amendment."

Supporters of the new bill say the booksellers are getting worked up over nothing, because the $250 fine and requirement to register with the secretary of state only applies to new businesses -- and we know people aren't foolish enough to open new bookstores nowadays.