Censorship in New Jersey

Two New Jersey Democratic state assemblywomen have called for Ann Coulter's latest book not to be sold in the state (link courtesy of LISnews):

"Coulter's vicious characterizations and remarks are motivated by greed and her desire to sell books. By making these claims, she proves herself worse than those she is attempting to vilify - she is a leech trying to turn a profit off perverting the suffering of others.

"No one in New Jersey should buy this book and allow Ann Coulter to profit from her hate-mongering. We are asking New Jersey retailers statewide to stand with us and express their outrage by refusing to carry or sell copies of Coulter's book. Her hate-filled attacks on our 9-11 widows has no place on New Jersey bookshelves."


Anyone who has read this blog for any length of time will realize that I am not a fan of Ann Coulter. As a conservative, I regard her as an embarrassment. She is a completely over the top demagogue. Having said that, the assemblywomen are utterly wrong in calling for bookstores not to carry her book.

It's true, of course, that anyone in NJ wanting to buy the book can simply log on to Amazon. Still, the spectre of state officials telling bookstores what books they should not carry is cause for concern. It is instructive, though, that ALA or other library organizations have yet to respond to this news. If these were conservative Republicans calling for bookstores to boycott Michael Moore's latest book, would ALA be just as silent?