ACLU challenges Kentucky prison's policy on LGBT literature
The American Civil Liberties Union, a non-partisan organisation focused on social issues, has challenged the policies of a prison in Kentucky that prevents inmates from receiving magazines with LGBT content.
According to the Courier-Journal, the Eastern Kentucky Correctional Complex in West Liberty censors LGBT magazines and other similar reading materials that they think "promote homosexuality." While the Kentucky Department of Corrections handbook does not contain such policy, this particular penal institution's has, under its Unauthorized Mail section, a restriction for such materials. There have been 13 cases of inmates being denied their mail between August and November 2015 alone. Personal letters and photos were also rejected, according to Reuters.
"Letters, photographs, books and magazines that promote homosexuality" are reported to be prohibited, as well as free gifts, those that contain other people's social security number, and gang signs, as they are deemed to constitute "a threat to institutional discipline or security." Magazines like The Advocate and OUT are not allowed.
A letter to Warden Kathy Litteral last month, co-written by ACLU staff attorney Ria Tabacca Mar and ACLU legal director William Sharp, says that with this policy, indivuals, based on their sexual orientation, are singled out for unequal treatment. After the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage, "it can no longer be seriously argued that being gay constitutes a security threat that justifies discriminatory treatment of gay prisoners."
The policies and procedures of the Kentucky Corrections, under the Pornography or Sexually Explict Materials section of Inmate Correspondence, say that the types of materials that are likely to be rejected include those that show "homosexuality, sadism, masochism, bestiality, and sexual acts or nudity with children," although it is specified that "rejection shall not be based upon the grounds set forth above if the material does not pose a threat to any aspect of the institution."
According to Reuters, the policies are now in review, quoting Commissioner Rodney Ballard's email as saying, "I have asked our general counsel to research the issue and provide guidance."
Another non-profit organization, LGBT Books for Prisoners, said that more than one prison has rejected materials they sent to inmates because of gay content.
