An Orange County, California, library system violated state law with its policy of restricting young people’s access to “sexually explicit” materials, a judge has ruled.

Earlier this month, Orange County Superior Court Judge Lindsey Martinez sided with plaintiffs who sued the Huntington Beach Library, arguing that the policy violates both the state’s constitution and its Freedom to Read Act.

Related

California town wants to fight the state for the right to out trans kids to their parents

As LAist reports, in 2023, the city — which has gained an increasingly conservative, anti-LGBTQ+ reputation in recent years — passed a resolution banning minors from accessing materials featuring sexual content in public libraries without parental permission. Opponents of the measure argued that it defined “sexual content” too vaguely and that it was in fact a pretext for censoring books LGBTQ+ books.

According to local NBC affiliate KNBC-TV, the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Southern California and the First Amendment Coalition joined with LGBTQ+ advocacy organization Alianza Translatinx and two high school students in March to challenge the policy under California’s Freedom to Read Act. The law, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) in 2024, forbids state-funded public libraries from excluding from their collections or limiting access to materials solely based on “the race, nationality, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, disability, political affiliation, or any other characteristic… or the socioeconomic status” of a subject, author, source, or perceived or intended audience.

Insights for the LGBTQ+ community

Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more.
Subscribe to our Newsletter today

The city’s lawyers argued that the law is unconstitutional, citing the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Mahmoud v. Taylor, according to LAist. In its June 2025 ruling, the Court’s conservative majority said that parents have the right to opt their children out of reading books that feature LGBTQ+ characters in school. As KNBC notes, the city also argued that the challenge to its library policy was pointless because its restrictions had not been implemented.

But according to LAist, Huntington Beach librarians had already been instructed to remove certain books from children’s sections and to do away with young adult sections entirely.

In her September 5 ruling, Judge Martinez rejected the city’s argument that the Freedom to Read Act is unconstitutional and accepted the plaintiffs’ claims that the restrictions had already been implemented. Her decision bans Huntington Beach from enacting its book ban.

As LAist notes, in a special election this past June, Huntington Beach voters already repealed a citizen review board that the city had established to censor children’s library books. The outlet also reports that the city may still appeal the ruling. But for now, freedom to read advocates are celebrating.

“The freedom to read is one of the fundamental pillars of democracy, and today democracy won,” Erin Spivey, a plaintiff in the suit, said following Martinez’s ruling, according to KNBC.

“The court made it clear that Huntington Beach cannot censor books simply because of whose stories they tell,” Alianza Translatinx CEO Khloe Rios-Wyatt told the station. “Representation saves lives, and access to knowledge is essential to dignity and equality for all.”

Subscribe to the LGBTQ Nation newsletter and be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.