The public library is one of the only places to allow free unfiltered access. If people choose to use it for porn, then that's their business.
Homeland Security, however, wants to step in...
Montgomery County Homeland Security Officers Try to Police Porn
Friday February 17, 2006 6:03am ROCKVILLE, Md. (AP) - Montgomery County
website -
news is retraining its homeland security officers after two of them marched in to a public library last week and announced that viewing Internet pornography was forbidden.
One of the men asked a library visitor to step outside after challenging what the person was looking at. A librarian intervened, and in the end no one had to step outside.
The Washington Post reports the officers were part of Montgomery County's Homeland Security Department, which patrols about 300 county buildings.
County chief administrative officer Bruce Romer says the officers overstepped their authority. He says the officers thought they were enforcing a sexual harassment policy.
But the U.S. Constitution provides First Amendment rights at public libraries.
Montgomery County libraries ask patrons to be considerate of others, and some other libraries filter out pornography for children.
http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0206/303629.html