Yesterday, a U.S. District Judge said Florida went too far with its book ban law. Judge Carlos Mendoza ruled that Florida’s expanded “Don’t Say Gay” provisions are unconstitutionally vague, violating the First Amendment and censoring acclaimed literature.
Mendoza issued his ruling striking down major parts of HB 1069 (2023) — the Florida law that had led to widespread book removals from school libraries. His decision declared that the provisions banning any book that merely “describes sexual conduct” were overbroad, unconstitutional, and inconsistent with Supreme Court precedent.
The ruling reinstates the use of the Miller Test (the federal obscenity standard) and restores librarians’ discretion in deciding what belongs in school libraries. Importantly, Judge Mendoza’s order explicitly vindicated 23 specific books, saying they are not obscene and must be available to students.
The law made schools remove books just because they talked about sex — even classics like The Color Purple or Slaughterhouse-Five, and Mndoza said that’s unconstitutional. Books can’t be banned unless they’re truly obscene (pornographic with no real value).
He reminded schools that librarians — not politicians — should decide what books belong in libraries. He also listed 23 books that Florida had removed and said clearly: these are not obscene, they can stay. For now, schools in Florida can bring those books back, but the state plans to appeal, so this fight isn’t over.
In short, students in Florida just got their right to read protected — at least for now.
Here’s a list of the 23 books Judge Carlos Mendoza specifically said are not obscene and can be kept in Florida school libraries:
The Handmaid’s Tale — Margaret Atwood
Native Son — Richard Wright
Slaughterhouse-Five — Kurt Vonnegut
The Color Purple — Alice Walker
The Kite Runner — Khaled Hosseini
How the García Girls Lost Their Accents — Julia Alvarez
Paper Towns — John Green
Looking for Alaska — John Green
Song of Solomon — Toni Morrison
Beloved — Toni Morrison
Homegoing — Yaa Gyasi
Speak — Laurie Halse Anderson
Go Tell It on the Mountain — James Baldwin
Forever — Judy Blume
Fun Home — Alison Bechdel
This Book Is Gay — Juno Dawson
Push — Sapphire
All Boys Aren’t Blue — George M. Johnson
Lawn Boy — Jonathan Evison
Gender Queer — Maia Kobabe
A Stolen Life — Jaycee Dugard
Lucky — Alice Sebold
The Bluest Eye — Toni Morrison
