Vacaville Library Incident Parent's Letter to the Editor

In today's (4/5/05) Vacaville, CA "The Reporter" newspaper, Iraq War veteran David Allen Horn writes a letter to the editor regarding the need for internet filtering in the public library. Mr. Horn is the husband of the mother with 2 daughters who were exposed to pornography at the local public library - read about Mrs. Horn's encounter here.

Mr. Horn calmly presents a well reasoned and altogether realistic method to both operate internet filters and allow those in need to access the internet without the filters. Horn writes:

Our children and countless others have been exposed to hard-core pornography in our own public library because of a nearly 10-year-old decision not to filter Web sites in Solano County Library computers. Friends have either told us they didn't know that porn wasn't filtered out, or told horror stories, some worse than ours, of what their kids were exposed to on public library computers. Toni [Mrs. Horn] clearly saw an unnecessary risk to children and decided to do something about it. Thanks to her efforts, she is being heard loud and clear.

The issues involved are very serious and care must be taken to balance the protection of children with the right to express and access information. I am confident that this can be done, for the sake of the children, without infringing upon First Amendment rights.

...the library can ensure that content viewed on the Internet, conforms to the same guidelines the library uses when selecting its printed and audiovisual collection.

Here is Horn's solution. It is simple and, by the way, used in libraries across the country.

Effective filters and the option to have the filter deactivated by library staff is an easy fix. It protests [sic] everyone's rights and promotes a positive learning environment. The current policy has created an environment that encourages and enables crimes against children. My oldest daughter, an avid reader and once an eager visitor to the library, has suffered significant and tangible harm due to her negative and preventable experience at the public library.

I hope that people from all sides of this issue will attend the Solano County Supervisors meeting 9 a.m. Tuesday. I would like to see staunch supporters of children's rights and defenders of the Constitution represented. I am both of these and I think it is time for a change.

Read Horn's entire letter here.