In Sacramento, you could get convicted for selling comic books to kids. For more than 75 years, a law has been in effect in the city banning the sale of comics that depict crime or violence to anyone under 18 years old.
Local shops like Big Brother Comics have shelves filled with crime-fighting superheroes, but they’re the ones that have technically been breaking the law anytime a book is sold to kids.
Eben Burgoon is a local comic book creator who has launched a petition to repeal the archaic law.
“You could go to jail and you could face a fine for giving a kid a comic book,” Burgoon said.
He said the ordinance was passed in 1949, at a time when people across the country feared comics were contributing to juvenile delinquency.
“There was a series of really awful things that happened, and they cited comic books as a reason why, and there was these national campaigns and senate hearings to try and ban comic books,” Burgoon said.
Now, he’s looking for some superheroes at city hall to repeal the book ban.
“I felt like this is a time that we could be proactive and defend free speech,” Burgoon said.
Sacramento City Councilmember Phil Pluckebaum said this could be an opportunity “to right that historic wrong.”
Pluckebaum is now asking his colleagues to remove the ordinance from the city’s books so Superman and Batman will no longer be forbidden contraband.
“No one’s complaining about the youth and their comic books,” he said. “This is an opportunity to eliminate some unneeded code that we weren’t going to enforce anyway.”
The proposal would also designate the third week in September as Sacramento Comic Book Week. A city commission will be considering the repeal next Tuesday.
