Va. Judge Dismisses Obscenity Lawsuits Against LGBTQ Books

Judge Pamela Baskervill found that the two books in question, Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe and A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas, are not obscene under Virginia state law. This ruling counters the arguments made by Republican congressional candidate Tommy Altman and his attorney, Republican state Del. Tim Anderson of House District 83.

YNOT previously reported that Baskervill, a retired judge appointed to deal with the litigation filed by Altman and Anderson, initially issued an order finding that there is “probable cause” that both books could be classified as obscene under state law. But the ruling handed down in Virginia Beach focused more on the fact that Virginia’s obscenity laws are lacking many aspects and less on the merits of the content in the books that are considered obscene by the filers or the First Amendment and constitutionality arguments.

The litigation includes two legal complaints filed by Altman and Anderson. The first complaint targeted Barnes & Noble and the Virginia Beach public school system to prevent the availability of Gender Queer: A Memoir and A Court of Mist and Fury. Oni Press, the comic book and graphic novel publisher of Kobabe’s book, was targeted in the second lawsuit with the author for publishing “obscene” content.

Counsel for free speech groups, publishers, and Barnes & Noble all applauded the ruling. Robert Corn-Revere, a renowned First Amendment lawyer who was retained by Barnes & Noble in this case, said of Baskervill’s ruling that “the Constitution is the law the state has to obey.”

Corn-Revere represented PEN America Inc. in the group’s case against former Republican President Donald Trump for stifling free speech. The lawsuit was later settled between PEN America and counsel for the US federal government. He was also legal counsel on the behalf of Playboy in the benchmark freedom of speech case United States v. Playboy, which was ruled upon by the US Supreme Court in 2000.

“What was confirmed from…[the] ruling is that it is unfair to refer to partial contents of a book as ‘pornographic’ or ‘obscene,’” Lisa Varga, executive director of the Virginia Library Association, said in a news statement in response to Baskervill’s ruling. “We have seen those words used a lot in Virginia Beach, particularly when it comes to books in school libraries. The truth is that there is a legal standard a work has to meet before those words can be used to describe it.”

Altman and Anderson have announced that they intend to appeal Judge Baskervill’s ruling.