February 18, 2006 | Sex & Society

Policing porn not Homeland Security job

Patrons at a library in Bethesda, Md., were not planting bombs in books last week, nor were they reading about weapons of mass destruction. Still, they managed to attract the attention of two Homeland Security officers, who took it upon themselves to police the viewing of Internet pornography in public.

The uniformed officers, employed by the Montgomery County Homeland Security Department, were reassigned last week after an incident that unfolded Feb. 9. The men entered the library, the Washington Post reports, and announced that viewing Internet porn on the library's computers was forbidden. They proceeded to challenge one Internet user's choice of material and had asked him to step outside to discuss the matter when a librarian intervened and called the police.

"An officer did respond, and after discussion, it was determined that the actions of the security guard were not appropriate," police spokeswoman Lucille Bauer told The Associated Press.

The officers claimed that they were enforcing the county's sexual harassment policy, which the Washington Post says forbids the "display of offensive or obscene printed or visual material." However, it adds that in libraries, which are public domains, the U.S. Constitution trumps county rules -- and the First Amendment happens to protect library patrons' Internet choices.

According to Bruce Romer, Montgomery County's chief administrative officer, the county plans to train its homeland security officers to better understand library policy and its relationship with constitutional freedoms.

So don't be shy about checking out BG's latest free galleries at your public library - just be sure to have copy of the Constitution on you!

• Policing porn Is not part of job description [Washington Post]
• County reassigns guards over library incident [WBAL - AP]