I found the ACLU complaint against Hawaii (the State Library evicted a man who was at a gay site - see Sept 7 blog entry). It says that Hawaii state law "Act 50 of 2004" H.R.S. § 708-814, has been used on at least two occasions to ban individuals from the State Library for one year. Carlos Hernandez, the patron looking at gayhawaii.com was apparently in a chat room at the site when a security guard banned Hernandez.
The ACLU claims that Act 50 allows any police officer or authorized person to ban an individual from public property based on nothing more than the officer’s or person’s prejudices and predilections. It says Act 50 should be struck down for vagueness, overbreadth, lack of due process and other grounds.
To see the facts alleged read the continuation of this post below. Very strangely, it claims that the librarian said that she believed the security guard was being too harsh, but there was “nothing that she could do” about the trespass warnings or the ban.
That makes no sense - the guards are hired by the library, not the other way around. Added note: When I was a librarian, I fired a security guard who was hassling patrons. It's very clear that the library has the authority, not the guard.
ACLU Sept 7 press release
The Center and Carlos Hernandez v. Linda Lingle filed in U.S. District Court, District of Hawaii on Sept. 7, 2004 - ACLU complaint
28. On or about May 18, 2004, Plaintiff Hernandez used one of the computers at the Hawaii State Library to access the Internet. On that date, Plaintiff Hernandez was issued a written trespass warning by one of the Hawaii State Library’s security guards because the security guard did not approve of the chat room that Mr. Hernandez had accessed.
29. On information and belief, the Hawaii State Library contracts with Burns Security International to provide security at the facility. As such the security guard is an authorized agent of the Hawaii State Library and was at all times acting under color of state law. Plaintiff Hernandez now cannot return to
Hawaii State Library until May 18, 2005, or he risks prosecution for criminal trespass under the provisions of the statute.
30. The stated reason for Plaintiff Hernandez’s ban from the Hawaii State Library is “Pornagraph [sic] Site. Chat room.” The website that Mr. Hernandez accessed, www.gayhawaii.com is not pornographic, but rather is a community resource for the LGBTIQ community in Hawaii; the chat room that he was accessing is a text-based method of communicating with others of the LGBTIQ community.
31. Plaintiff Hernandez was not causing a disturbance of any kind at the Hawaii State Library at the time he received the written trespass warning. Instead, the security guard used his personal discretion to ban Plaintiff Hernandez from public property, while Plaintiff was engaged in protected free
speech activities.
32. During the last two weeks of May 2004, Plaintiff Hernandez and at least one other individual contacted Plaintiff The Center to complain about the trespass warnings given at the Hawaii State Public Library and the fact that the individuals were banned from the Library for a one-year period.
33. On or about May 27, 2004, Ken Miller, Executive Director and a member of The Center, spoke to Marya B. Zoller, Head of Library Operations at the Hawaii State Library. During that meeting Mr. Miller asked Ms. Zoller to inquire into the basis for banning at least two individuals from the Hawaii State
Library pursuant to the statute.
34. The next week, Ms. Zoller telephoned Mr. Miller and explained that the individuals were banned for accessing gay-related websites. Ms. Zoller commented that the security guard who had issued the trespass warnings did so because the websites contained photos of men without shirts. Ms. Zoller also
stated that although she believed the security guard was being too harsh, there was “nothing that she could do” about the trespass warnings or the ban.
35. In view of the complaints received by The Center, its members, including Ken Miller, are hesitant to access any gay related materials at the Hawaii State Library. Mr. Miller has also begun warning members of The Center and of the public of the risks associated with accessing gay-related materials at the Hawaii State Library. The statute is thus chilling the exercise of constitutionally protected speech.
Comments