Last Updated on August 30, 2022
A Virginia judge has ruled that kids can purchase sexually explicit books without parental consent; a headline-grabbing victory for the pro-groomer left brought on by a vote-splitting candidate’s lawsuit against Barnes and Noble. The suit, filed by ex-2nd District GOP Primary candidate Tommy Altman, is being blasted by his Trump-aligned former opponent Jarome Bell, for having been a futile effort from the start.
Judge Pamela Baskervil dismissed a lawsuit today in Virginia Beach against the Barnes and Noble bookstore chain, claiming in her ruling that Virginia’s obscenity laws cannot be applied to sales the books of “Gender Queer” and “A Court of Mist and Fury” under constitutional due process.
Attorney Tim Anderson, who took the case to court, argued that materials targeting children should be held to a higher obscenity standard than those meant for adults, but Judge Baskervil ruled that the court couldn’t set those standards on behalf of the state. Altman and Anderson had previously sought a restraining order on the sale of the books but withdrew that request before the obscenity hearing.
Another portion of the case, which targeted the book “Gender Queer” in Virginia Beach Schools, was deemed “moot” by the court because parent groups unrelated to the suit have already successfully fought to have it removed from library shelves.
Anderson, who also serves as a GOP Delegate in Virginia’s legislature, said in a statement that future actions may be needed from the General Assembly to modify Virginia’s obscenity laws as they apply to children if similar cases are to advance.
The lawsuit to restrict the book sales to kids was filed earlier this year by Virginia Beach resident and former Congressional candidate Tommy Altman, in the midst of his 2nd District GOP Primary run. Altman was the subject of much controversy during the campaign and was accused of running as controlled opposition for establishment pick Jen Kiggans.
Altman’s lawsuit raising the issue of obscene books served as a distraction from Kiggans’ pro-trans legislative record, which was blasted by Trump-aligned candidate Jarome Bell and extensively reported on by National File.
“Fundamentally, my client believes there should be a different standard of obscenity for children than currently exists for adults, but that will require review by higher courts to conclusively answer this question and possibly additions to the code by the General Assembly.”
When reached for comment by National File, Jarome Bell ripped Altman’s lawsuit as being part of a futile political stunt, echoing previous criticisms made by himself and others of Altman’s sudden bursting onto the parental rights scene in an election season. Bell says that Altman has been “MIA” while he and others in the district have packed school board meetings to fight for parental rights and that his lawsuit threatening to interfere with the free market was doomed from the start by design.
“In my opinion, Tommy’s lawsuit was totally politically motivated,” Bell told National File. “For a person who has never been inside the school board administration building, nor ever spoken to the school board at a meeting, like many of us have, the timing of the lawsuit, I believe, was to gain some street cred for primary votes.”
“We’ve been fighting this school board against CRT, SEL, transgenderism, and these porn books for over two years now and this guy throws a Hail Mary and hires Tim Anderson to go after privately-owned bookstores,” Bell, who made fighting for parental rights a centerpiece of his campaign, went on to say.
“Going after these child pornography grooming books, to have them removed in public schools because our tax dollars pay for them is one thing,” Bell explained, “however going after them in bookstores was futile from the beginning.”
“I can understand Tim Anderson taking the case because he was hired to, and that’s what lawyers do. They will take your money no matter how ridiculous the suit is. It’s how he makes a living and feeds his family.”
As for the prospects of an appeal in the case, Bell says he hopes Altman will “save his money,” and is “sure he will because it’s no longer election season.”
“If this was a real concern for him, there have been at least 3 school board meetings on this issue, he could have appeared to voice his displeasure with these books and the others we are trying to get removed, but as usual, he’s been MIA.”
“The court was correct in their decision,” said Bell. “No matter how much it causes displeasure, free speech and the freedom of the press apply in bookstores. I could have saved Altman some money if he would’ve asked.”
Stay tuned to National File for any updates.
